You Can't Always Get What You Want
by oblivious-massacre
Summary: Damon takes Elena out one night to "show her something". It seems as if she will have one night of normalness. Little does she know...
1. Confession

**So, I am totally all for Delena! Just wanted to say that. Lol. Well, because I love them so much, and I can't find a single story about Damon and Elena that I like, I decided to write my own. I don't know how long it will be; that is up to the readers. I hope you enjoy my fanfic.**

It seemed like there was nothing to do in Mystic Falls, which was nearly impossible in Elena Gilbert's mind. She hadn't had nothing to do since before she met Stefan, over a year ago. She'd already done all her household chores that Alaric had asked her to do - wash the dishes, do the laundry, dust, and all sorts of other things that men wouldn't know the first thing about.

School had been out for almost a week now. Elena hadn't seen any of her friends - or her boyfriend, Stefan - all day. It seemed like - for once - she and her friends weren't stuck in some sort of supernatural disaster.

The sun had just gone down but the sky was still pink and orange, almost twilight. Elena could see one or two bright stars in the sky through her kitchen window. She let out a sigh and walked over to her refrigerator. She was just about to pull out some leftovers for dinner when she saw that Alaric - or Rick, as she liked to call him - had written down yet another chore he wanted her to do.

"Wow. He comes home just to leave me more chores. No, 'Hello, Elena. How are those chores coming along?'." Elena said aloud.

Footsteps sounded behind her and her heart started to race, figuring that there was some dangerous - insert werewolf, vampire, witch, whatever here - coming to tell her that she held the key to something they wanted. "Hello, Elena. How are those chores coming along?" Rick mocked her.

Elena's heart automatically slowed down at the sound of his voice and she gave a little chuckle. "You know, you might not want to sneak up on me like that. I might just bust out some ninja skills that I learned from my…adventures."

Alaric laughed and opened his mouth to say something but the doorbell rang before he could. He held up his finger to tell her he'd be just a moment. Elena nodded and then went back to reading the chores note. "Wash bathroom sinks."

Rolling her eyes, Elena grabbed a brush and some bathroom cleaner and headed upstairs.

"Elena, wait." Rick said from behind her. She hadn't even realized that he was standing there with someone at the door. She had been too ready to get these chores over with and eat.

Elena turned around, fully expecting to see someone she never would've thought would be here - someone like Rebecca, Klaus, or even Santa Claus - but was excited to see Stefan. She put the cleaning items she had in her hands on the stairs and ran over to him, jumping into his arms. He caught her easily - thanks to his vampiric strength - and set her down inside.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Elena told him excitedly.

Stefan gave her one of his famous small smiles. "Is it because you missed me, or because you want someone to help you clean?"

Elena made a little humming sound as she pretended to be thinking really hard. "Actually, I think it's because I need someone to help me clean…" She put on a giant smile to let him know that she was joking.

Stefan kissed her on the cheek - because Rick still hadn't left, ugh - and then grabbed her hand. He picked up the bathroom cleaner and she picked up the brush before they walked up the stairs together. "I actually can't stay for very long, I'm afraid." Stefan suddenly said, crushing Elena's hopes.

"Stefan! I barely get to be alone with you anymore. Where do you have to be?" she whined.

He gave her an apologetic smile as they walked into the bathroom. "Well, an old friend is in town and would like to spend some time with me. I think it might be one of the last times I get to see her."

Elena arched an eyebrow, wondering who this mystery girl might be. She wouldn't admit it if someone called her out on it, but she felt a little pang of jealousy in her stomach. "Who is it?"

"Her name is Elizabeth. She's one-hundred-years-old tomorrow. Mystic Falls is where she was born, so she wants to celebrate here. I haven't seen her in about…thirty years or so. You would like her. She can be a bit…weird at times." He laughed, making Elena's stomach do somersaults.

Elena scrubbed at her side of the sink, trying to look busy so that she didn't look like the jealous, clingy girlfriend. "Oh, I know all about weird, all right. So, is she a vampire?"

Stefan shook his head. "She's a human."

At that, Elena stopped scrubbing the sink and looked at him. Stefan was friends with a one-hundred-year-old _human _woman? Every single trace of the jealousy she had felt evaporated. "Wow. When did you -" Elena was going to ask him when he met Elizabeth, but there was a sudden clanking noise in the sink.

She looked down to see what it was, but Stefan had already reached into the sink to try and grab something. He wasn't fast enough - which was strange for a vampire - and it went down the drain. Elena saw just enough of the chain to know what it was, and put her hand up to her throat as if trying to prove to herself that her necklace was still there.

It wasn't. The necklace Stefan had given her right before his first football game - the one filled with vervain so that she couldn't be compelled by any vampires - wasn't hanging around her neck anymore. "Oh, Stefan! I'm so sorry. I didn't even feel it come off."

Stefan just shook his head. "No, it's alright, Elena. It's not like you meant to do it. I'll get you another necklace with vervain." He reached over and stroked the side of her face, looking directly into her eyes. "Maybe I'll get one to match your beautiful eyes…"

Elena felt the blush rise up on her cheeks just before Stefan moved forward to kiss her. It was a sweet, soft kiss, but it was full of so much passion that it made Elena dizzy. She loved Stefan so much! There were times when she thought Stefan was bad for her - that him being a vampire would interfere with most of her future plans. But at that moment, in Stefan's arms, she knew that she would give up anything to stay with him. Even if that meant turning into - No. She wouldn't think about that right now. She was still young and still looked the same age as Stefan, so there were no problems in this moment. Just him and her.

Their kiss was interrupted by Stefan's phone ringing. He sighed. "That's my alarm. I set it so that I wouldn't forget to leave on time. Elizabeth's party starts in five minutes. Would you like to join me?"

Elena out on her best smile. "No, no. Go have fun. I don't want to be the girl who just shows up at a party for someone she doesn't even know. Besides, if it starts in just a couple of minutes, you'll have to go super-fast to get there and I wouldn't be able to keep up."

"Are you sure?" he asked, always the gentleman. "I could put you on my back…"

"No, Stefan, go have fun. I'll be fine here. I'm just gonna finish up cleaning, eat, take a bath, and then get ready for bed. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

He smiled, a sweet kind of smile that Elena knew he only gave her. "You will definitely see me tomorrow. Would you like to go see a movie?"

"That would be wonderful. Now, go! Don't be late for Elizabeth's party. She's not getting any younger." Elena couldn't help but crack up at her joke. Stefan gave her a reprimanding look but said goodbye and gave her a kiss on the cheek before darting off.

**[3 HOURS LATER]**

Elena had just slid into her pajamas and grabbed her diary when there was a soft knock at her window. Smiling to herself - thinking about how sweet Stefan was to come check on her before bed - she walked over to the window and was surprised to see…

"Damon." she whispered, opening the window. "What are you doing here so late? And since when do you knock before coming in?"

Damon smirked at her. "Oh, were you expecting my little brother? Sorry to disappoint…"

Elena sighed and plopped down on the end of her bed. "What do you want, Damon?"

He put a hand over his heart and grimaced. "Ouch, Elena, that hurt. Forgive me for making sure you weren't compelled to go running into traffic without your necklace." Damon gave her one of his famous I'm-bad-and-it-just-feels-so-good smiles.

"Damon, I swear, if you try to compel me, I will - Wait. How did you know I lost my necklace?" she whispered.

Damon walked over to one of her bookshelves, examining the titles of books and knick-knacks on top. "I didn't. Until now, that is."

Elena stood up and walked over to him, determined to make him look at her and explain why he was there. He turned toward her so fast she jumped, heart racing. "If you must know, I came here to beg you to dump Stefan and run away with me." Damon fell to his knees in front of her and put his hands together in a praying position. "Oh, Elena, I could give you anything you ever desired. Power, wealth, beauty, blah, blah, blah…"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Damon, you are getting on my last nerve. I'm tired! I want to go to bed."

He stood up, face serious, eyes boring into her face. "How'd you become so grumpy?" Elena was about to yell at him to get out, that she didn't have time for this, but he sighed and said, "Okay, okay! Geez… I just…" Damon took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "I wanted to show you something. I've been wanting to show you it for a while now, but you've been so involved in Stefan lately, you have no time for me. I figured since he's busy escorting some old lady around, this would be the perfect time."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Fine. Show me."

"It's not here." He gave her another one of his arrogant smiles. "You have to come with me."

"Damon, if you so much as _try _to compel me, I will stake you. I'm not joking." she said, meaning every word.

Again, he fawned being hurt. "Jeesh! What does a vampire gotta do to earn a little trust around here? Oh, wait, that's right: drink animal blood and pretend to be human all the time, like Stefan." Elena was surprised to see that some of the hurt on his face might actually be real, but he regained his composure before she could be too sure. "Relax. I am not going to compel you. I just want to show you something."

Elena thought about this for a moment. Going out with Damon? Bad choice. Going out with Damon late at night? Even worse. Going out with Damon late at night without her vervain necklace to protect her from being compelled? Hell, no. But, against her better judgment, Elena asked, "What is it?"

Of course Damon would take that as a yes. "Ah ha! Get your shoes."

For a moment, Elena thought about arguing with him that she hadn't agreed, she had simply asked a question. But, she decided, she could either spend all night arguing with him, or she could just go and get it over with. With a sigh, she grabbed some flip-flops.

"You're going to want to wear tennis shoes." Damon told her before walking out on her windowsill.

She let out a little noise of frustration and grabbed her tennis shoes. While she put them on, she grumbled to herself about Damon always pulling new tricks on her.

"Okay, now what?" she asked, walking out on the windowsill, but Damon was nowhere to be seen. "Damon?"

Suddenly, he was right next to her, touching her arm. Elena couldn't help the bubble of anticipation that welled up in her chest. Stefan never did those kinds of things to her, popping out of nowhere and getting so close that she could smell his cologne. Although she wouldn't admit it, Elena actually liked that about Damon.

"Here." He held his arms out to her. When Elena just looked at him, he said, "Come on. I thought you said you wanted to go to sleep. The fastest way to get there is by running and you can't run as fast as me."

Even though there was a little voice in the back of her head screaming at her to go back in her room and forget this ever happened, Elena found herself wrapping her arms around Damon's neck and letting him hold her.

"Close your eyes." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver. She did as he said and soon she felt the wind whipping her hair around in every direction. She hoped that Damon didn't mind her wet hair smacking him in the face every now and then. "Okay." he said when they had stopped.

Elena opened her eyes and saw that they were in the woods. Damon put her down and she walked around, looking at everything around her. There was nothing special out here, except for a great view of the night sky. "I don't get it. What's so special about this?"

Damon turned away from her so that all she could see of him was the gleam of the moon on his leather jacket. He walked back and forth a couple of times, seeming to forget she was there. Just when Elena didn't think she could take the silence any longer, he leaned against a tree and said, "I used to come here all the time." He still wasn't looking at her.

"There's a little creek just behind the tree I'm leaning on. If you follow it, you'll come to a little waterfall. It sounds just like those fountains people buy and put on their office desks for relaxation. When I was young, and my father had been upset with me, I would come out here and just sit. When I was here, I didn't have to think about anything. I could just…be here."

Elena didn't know what to say. Damon had never been like this in front of her before. Sure, he'd said sweet things to her, and done something wonderful to try and make her choose him instead of Stefan, but he had never shown her something so…special to him.

She decided against ruining the moment by asking question, and instead walked behind the tree he was at. Damon didn't move as she did; he didn't even look like he knew she was there anymore. She'd walked a good ten feet when he was suddenly at her side, holding on to her arm.

"You don't want to go walking out here without me right now. It's dark and you won't be able to see the water. If you want to see the waterfall, I'll take you to it." he said, and then picked her up.

Once again, they were moving at vampiric speed. This time, Elena had her eyes open, but it didn't make much of a difference. They didn't go that far, and at that speed she couldn't see anything clearly anyways.

Damon put her down right beside the waterfall, and she could automatically see why he would find it so relaxing. Elena crossed her feet underneath her and sat down, enjoying the natural music around her. After a moment, Damon came and joined her.

They didn't say anything to each other. They really didn't need to. Elena couldn't believe that Damon had shared something like this with her, but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by asking all sorts of questions. She was afraid she might hit a nerve and upset him if she asked the wrong question.

Suddenly, Damon said, "I came here when Katherine was toying with me and Stefan." Elena involuntarily flinched. She knew Damon had seen it, but he didn't say anything. "At the time, I really thought I'd loved her. I thought that she was just…messing with Stefan. That at any moment she was going to tell him that she really loved me, and that he was just around for the ride."

Damon looked up from his ring that he had messing with and looked at the waterfall. Elena couldn't see it, but she knew he could. "It took me so long to realize that I had never really been in love. I think it's because I didn't know what love was."

Elena's heart started to race. She thought she knew what he wanted to bring her out here for: to tell her once again that he was in love with her. To tell her that she had other options, someone rather than Stefan. She had no idea whether she should say something or just continue to listen.

"Relax." Damon said, hearing her heartbeat. "This isn't what you think it is." Elena forced herself to calm down so that her heart would return to its normal pace. After what seemed like forever, it finally did, and Damon continued.

"Love… Such a tricky thing. It's so hard to find, and that's why people hate it so much. Ask people what they think of Valentine's Day. You either get, 'I hate it,' or you get, 'I love it'. That's because…you hate it when you can't get it."

Damon looked over at Elena, the most vulnerable she had ever seen him. "You and Stefan… I used to envy him when I looked at the two of you together. I wanted so badly to take his place, to be with you, to have you want _me_. But I have to tell you something, Elena. That's why I brought you out here. I didn't want anyone else to hear."

Elena sat patiently, letting Damon take his time. She had no idea what he was going to say, but she knew that it was taking a toll on him. The least she could do was give him the time he needed to muster up the courage to say whatever it was.

He took a deep breath and let it back out. "I don't feel that way anymore."

Elena gasped. That wasn't what she had been expecting at all.

"There's more." he said. "I'm not jealous of my brother anymore, for having you. I'm jealous of the two of you. You're in love. You're happy, and it doesn't matter what I do because you have each other. You don't know how lucky you are. I've lived almost a hundred and fifty years and I still haven't found real love."

Damon finally looked at Elena, taking her hand in his. "I just wanted you to know that I _do _love you, Elena, but that doesn't mean that I can't see what you and Stefan have." He put his other hand on the side of Elena's face. "You're so beautiful. Not like Katherine. You may look alike, but you have a beauty that even she couldn't come close to. You're the very opposite of her: kind, noble, fair. You have a light inside you that shines through the surface."

Even though Elena knew she shouldn't give Damon any reason to believe that she may change her mind about Stefan, she leaned her face into his hand. This was the Damon that she could see herself loving. This was the Damon that she imagined Katherine fell in love with.

"I'm leaving, Elena." Damon suddenly said.

"What?" she breathed. How could he say such sweet things to her and then just announce that he was leaving?

He nodded. "I have to. I…don't know how much longer I can stand being here, watching you and Stefan. I can accept that you chose him, but that doesn't mean that I want to be around, swimming in my own misery. I just wanted to tell you all of this. I wanted to leave, knowing that you saw the true Damon."

Elena was about to ask him where he was going when he suddenly pulled her face to his and kissed her. It wasn't soft, like Stefan's, but it was sweet. Elena hadn't been able to see his face while he was talking, but she could taste the tears that flowed down his face. Soon, her own tears mixed with his, making their kiss sweet and salty at the same time. She clung to him, scared that he would leave right now.

Damon had kissed her before, and a lot of times it was like this, but there was something new in this one. She knew that Damon was putting all his love, all his misery, and all his desperation in it. A sob escaped Elena's lips, causing her to open them. Damon's tongue gently flicked her bottom lip, and she felt a shiver go through her. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it must have been a long time because her lips were sore when he finally broke apart from her.

"Damon." Elena managed to say. She was crying and whimpering. "Wh-where are you going?"

They may not have been kissing anymore, but Damon was still close enough to her that she could see his face. There was no sign of the smirk Damon usually wore. His face was the most serious she had ever seen it. "I don't know."

Elena didn't really want to argue with him, trying to get where he was going out of him. So, instead, she asked, "Will you call me? Write?"

This time, a small smile formed on his lips. It was sweet and sad at the same time. "I don't think I'll be able to, where I'm going."

"I thought you said you didn't know where you were going?" Elena asked, perplexed. When Damon didn't answer, Elena finally got it. "Oh, Damon, no! You can't do that!"

"There's nothing left for me here, Elena."

The tears started to flow down Elena's cheeks faster. She couldn't say anything now, even if she wanted to. Damon put his hand on the side of her face again, and made her look at him. "But, Elena, you can't tell Stefan." She opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed his lips to hers again and picked her up at the same time.

Elena couldn't even think as Damon raced through the woods and toward her house. He was running so fast that she wouldn't be able to get enough oxygen to say anything, a lot faster than he had been running earlier.

Finally, they were on her windowsill. Damon helped Elena into her room and sat her on her bed. She was shaking so hard she didn't know what she would've done if it weren't for him. "Wh-wh-when?" she asked.

Damon's eyes were shining, glossy with tears. "This morning, when the sun comes up." Elena started to cry harder, but Damon knelt down in front of her. He kissed her hard one more time, his tears spilling into their mouths yet again. "I love you, Elena." he whispered, trying not to choke up from the tears. "I love you."

"Damon…"

"Shush. Don't say anything if you can't say it back." Elena felt horrible, and almost did say it back, but Damon lifted her head up to look at him before she could. She saw his pupils dilate, saw the one lone tear fall before he hypnotically whispered, "You won't remember any of this in the morning. You took a bath, you got in your pajamas, and you went to bed. When I leave, you will take off your shoes, put them away, and go to sleep. You will not remember that I was here."

"Okay." Elena said, tears all dry.

Damon kissed her forehead one more time before he disappeared.

What he didn't know was that, even though Elena didn't have her vervain necklace, she couldn't be compelled. She had been drinking tea spiked with vervain with her dinner…

…and she couldn't sit by and just let him die.

**What did you think? Should I continue, or no? If I get enough reviews, I'll continue. =]**


	2. The Battle For Life or Death

**Well, I'm guessing by the reviews that I got that people want me to continue the story. Most people, that is. Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone by what I said; I wasn't meaning to be rude. But I am continuing the story. Let me know if you like it, or if there is anything you think I should put in it.**

Elena took off her shoes and set them in the closet with her other shoes. Then she laid down on her bed and tried to control her breathing, making it slow and deep, as if she was sleeping. She didn't have to wait very long to hear the creak of her window opening.

It was harder to control her heart from racing and her breathing from hitching, knowing that Damon was in the room with her. She tried her best to pretend he wasn't there. It made it easier to control herself.

She felt his hand stroke her hair. Elena was surprised to feel herself starting to relax, actually beginning to drift off. She could see Damon's face in her mind: sad, desperate, tears running down his cheeks. She knew she had to call Stefan as soon as Damon left.

Stefan would be heartbroken if Damon died. Yes, they had their problems; all siblings did, but Stefan didn't want Damon dead. He just wanted him out of town. Even if he wouldn't leave, Stefan just wanted Damon to be nice and stop trying to steal Elena away from him. Elena knew that he would be able to come up with something to keep Damon from killing himself.

Elena jumped when she heard the window shut. She had been so engrossed with her thoughts that she hadn't even heard Damon get up to leave. If he had stayed longer, and she had drifted off to sleep, she would never be able to forgive herself.

She cracked open her eyes, trying to make sure that Damon really wasn't in her room, but she couldn't see the entire room like that. Finally, after not hearing anything for a minute, she opened her eyes completely. The room was empty.

Elena grabbed her phone from the table next to her and called Stefan. He picked up on the third ring.

"Stefan, we have a problem." she said.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" Stefan automatically replied, worried about her.

Elena shook her head, but she realized that he couldn't see that. "I'm home. I'm…well, not exactly okay, but I'm not in any danger."

Stefan seemed to think about that for a moment. "What's going on?"

Elena opened her mouth to start explaining, but realized that she had no idea what to say. If she came out and told Stefan that Damon had kissed her and confessed all his feeling to her, Stefan might just want Damon dead. She knew that he would let Damon do it, and then later, when his emotions were under control, he would never forgive himself.

"Uh, Damon is in trouble." Elena found herself saying.

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes." Stefan replied and then hung up.

Elena sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed again. How could Damon do something like this? And just because Elena didn't love him like he wanted? If she knew anyone who had a fabulous life even though they weren't dating anyone, it was Damon. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. He almost always had a smile on his face, even if it was because he was up to no good. It just didn't make any sense.

And why tell her, just to try and compel her to make her forget? Her mind flung one word at her: closure.

A knock at her window made Elena jump. She automatically leaped off her bed and ran over to her window. Stefan was already opening it and climbing inside her room. She launched herself into his arms for the second time that day, but this time she wasn't happy.

"Oh, God, Stefan. It's so bad." she whispered, her face pressed into his shoulder.

He stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. That actually made her feel even worse because _she _should be the one comforting _him_. "It's all going to be alright, Elena. Just calm down and tell me what happened."

Elena pulled away to look at him. She considered lying about how she knew Damon was going to kill himself, but because Stefan was a vampire he would be able to tell. So, she decided to tell him the truth, just omit parts that he wouldn't like.

"Damon came over earlier. He… He told me that he was going to kill himself!" she whispered, fiercely.

Only Stefan's eyes betrayed what he was feeling. They widened for a second in surprise, and then turned hard as steel, calculating what their next move would be. "Why would he do that?"

Elena sighed. "I have no idea." she said, honestly. Yes, he had told her that he was going to do it because "there is nothing here for him", but she didn't believe that for a second. Damon was a fighter. He took the things that he wanted. He wanted Elena, he had tried to take her, and then he realized he couldn't. So why not move on to bigger and better things?

"Did he say how? When?" Stefan asked.

She nodded. "He said he was going to do it when the sun came up. I don't know where, though."

Stefan started to pace back and forth, thinking. Elena watched him, trying to decide whether she should tell him about Damon's special place or not. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at Elena really hard. "Are you okay? I understand that you're upset about this, but your eyes are puffy like you've been crying really hard. And your lips are…" He trailed off, putting two and two together. "He kissed you."

Elena knew she couldn't lie. "Yeah, he did. But that doesn't change anything, Stefan. It doesn't change the way I feel about you, and I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me." Elena felt butterflies in her stomach, worried that Stefan would be so mad that he broke up with her.

Instantly, Stefan's entire face relaxed, and he took Elena's hand. "I will _never _stop loving you, Elena. Not even if my brother kissed you; not even if you left me for him. I love you."

Elena was on the verge of tears, but she knew she had to keep it together. It wasn't about her right now, it was about Damon. "I love you, too." She got up on her tip-toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "But what are we going to do about Damon?"

"I think I may know where he is. Do you have your keys?" he asked.

Elena nodded and grabbed her keys out of her purse. She tossed them to Stefan and he caught them without even looking. He ran across the room in the blink of an eye and scooped Elena into his arms, just as Damon had done with her earlier. In a flash, they were out her bedroom window, and next to her car in the driveway.

Stefan unlocked the car and Elena got in the passenger's seat. As soon as she had her seatbelt on, they were leaving.

"So, did he say anything? Anything at all about why he would do this?" Stefan asked, eyes focused on the road.

"Something about there not being anything here for him." Elena felt a little weird saying that to Stefan because Damon had said that to her in secrecy, and she was betraying him. True, he had tried to compel her when he said he wouldn't, but this just seemed…different somehow.

They didn't say anything the rest of the way there. Elena realized that they were going toward Stefan's house, not too far from where Damon had taken her earlier. She'd decided that the little creek had to be near their old house because he had said he went there when he was younger.

Elena found herself wondering what Stefan and Damon looked like as children. She pictured a young boy with brown hair, parted to the side. He was dressed in what she imagined would be the style back then: a white button-down shirt, brown pants, and suspenders. Young Stefan had softer brown eyes than the now, vampire Stefan.

Next to the boy - in her mind - she saw another young boy, a little older than young Stefan. He had pitch-black hair - parted to the side, just like his brother's - only young Damon's would be a little longer, a little curlier. His ice blue eyes were beautiful, sunlight shining in them.

She felt a little sad picturing them like that. Back then, they had actually acted like brothers. Or, at least, that was what Stefan had told her. Now, they weren't those innocent, young brothers. They had grown colder; not just from becoming vampires, but also from their never-ending rivalry. The only time Elena had ever seen them working together was when Elena was in danger, and even then they would bicker over her.

"Okay, we're here." Stefan said, breaking Elena out of her thoughts.

She hopped out, only seeing woods. She didn't have long to examine where they were before Stefan grabbed her and started to run. She wasn't cradled in his arms this time. Instead, she was on his back, like he was giving her a piggy-back ride. Her face was exposed to the wind, and Elena knew that she would have windburn in the morning.

Before she knew it, Elena was placed on her feet. She stumbled backward and would have fallen if Stefan hadn't grabbed her arm. "Thanks." she breathed.

"What are you doing here, _Stefan_?"

Elena hadn't even seen Damon before he spoke. He was standing about fifteen feet from her and Stefan, and - even though she couldn't see very well in the dark - she could tell that he was pissed.

Stefan let go of Elena's hand and took a step toward Damon. "I came here to stop you from doing something stupid."

Damon scoffed. "That's not your place, little brother."

"Look, Damon, can we stop fighting for even a minute? I didn't come here to - "

Faster than Elena could see, Damon ran at Stefan and hit him as hard as he could. Stefan went flying into a cluster of trees that had grown together, knocking bark and a couple of limbs off when he did. Her heart dropped into her stomach with worry for Stefan.

"Stefan!" she shrieked. She started to run towards him.

"No, Elena. Stay there." Stefan grunted, getting to his feet. Elena couldn't tell if he was hurt, which worried her even more. She didn't know what was worse: if Stefan had been hurt and she could see it, or if he was hurt and she _couldn't _see it. Even though she was worried about him, she did as Stefan said.

"Poor _Stefan_." Damon said, his words venomous. He walked over to Stefan, stopping just a few feet in front of him. "Don't do something you'll regret."

Damon was back. He was no longer the sweet, heartbroken Damon that he had shown Elena earlier. No, even when he was at his most vulnerable, Damon wouldn't let his brother know just how much he was hurting.

Elena barely heard Stefan say, "I won't," before Damon hit the ground with a sickening crack. Her mind was working in overtime: _maybe Damon will get knocked out and we can take him somewhere he'll be okay. Maybe he'll come to his senses and realize that he's being stupid. What if they kill each other again, this time permanently?_ Where her mind was in overdrive, her body was stock still. She had no idea what to do.

Suddenly, Elena was watching the two vampires fighting with supernatural speed. It was like watching two cats fight: you can't really tell which cat is which, and they're just flying around in a ball, latched onto each other. Every now and then she would hear one of them say something.

"This would all be so much easier if you would just _give. up._" That was Damon.

"I said I was sorry a long time ago. Let it go, already!" Stefan, of course, talking about making Damon a vampire back in 1864. Katherine had _really _made him a vampire, but he had to drink human blood within 24-hours of returning to life. Otherwise, he would just die. Stefan had brought a human girl to their house and bit her in front of Damon. Damon just couldn't resist the temptation and wound up drinking her blood, therefore turning him into a vampire. Elena still couldn't get over how weird it was that their roles were reversed back then. Damon, trying to be good and not kill people, and Stefan, mocking his older brother for not giving in.

It went on like that for a little while: Damon and Stefan fighting, occasionally saying something to each other, while Elena stood there, frozen. She desperately wished that she could be of more help, that she wasn't this little fragile human.

That was it! Elena knew what she had to do then. Taking a deep breath and willing herself not to chicken out, she ran right at the two brothers. They were so engrossed in fighting each other that they hadn't even paid any attention to her. Elena saw them clearly for a second - both had their arms locked on the other, grimacing and trying to hurt each other, then suddenly looking her direction when they heard her footsteps - before she launched herself on them.

It was only because they hadn't expected it that they fell down with her on top of them. Almost immediately, Elena rolled over, trying to get herself on top of one of them. She didn't care who she ended up on, just that they stop fighting. With her in the way, they wouldn't dare strike out for fear of hitting her.

She ended up on Stefan, spreading her arms and legs wide to cover him, facing Damon, who had stood up almost immediately.

"Stop this, both of you." she said, trying to ignore the stinging in her scratched palms.

Damon smiled down at both Elena and Stefan. "Fine with me. Have fun, you two." With that, he turned around and started walking calmly away. Elena actually thought he was whistling, although she couldn't hear well over her own breathing.

"Elena, get up." Stefan whispered. Elena started getting her bearings so that she could move, but apparently she didn't move fast enough for him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and got up with her in his arms in less than a second. She reached out for his hand, but he was already gone by the time she moved.

There was a loud crack from in front of her and she started running towards it. Stefan and Damon were locked together in a struggle right next to a huge tree. It was so dark where they were that Elena almost didn't see them. She had just spotted them when Stefan reared back - Damon's shoulders in his hands - and shoved Damon as hard as he could into the tree.

Elena saw what happened, and even heard it, but she couldn't believe it. Even when she saw the liquid pour out of Damon and hit the ground with a nasty, wet sound, she told herself that her eyes were playing tricks on her. She blinked hard - not only to try and see if what she was seeing was real, but also to keep her tears from pouring over - and opened them again, but she still saw the same thing.

A tree branch was sticking through Damon. Elena couldn't tell where it was going through his body, just that it was in his upper torso. She fully expected Damon to go limp, the tree branch staking him, but he tensed up. She took a few steps toward them, now seeing that the branch had gone through his right shoulder.

Damon grunted, as if it was hard for him to breathe, and whispered, "Go ahead, Stefan. Kill me."

For a moment, looking at Stefan, Elena thought that he was actually going to do it. Instead, he panted, "Not today."

Stefan walked away from his brother and took Elena's face in his hands. "Are you alright?" he asked, checking her body for wounds.

Elena nodded, momentarily unable to speak.

"I am…so sorry that you had to see that." he said, planting a kiss on each of her scratched palms.

Elena finally managed to take a deep, calming breath. She knew Damon would be okay, he would heal. "It's okay. As long as you're both alright, it's okay."

Stefan gave her a look that meant he was worried about her wanting _both of them _to be okay, but pulled her into his arms anyway. Elena rested her chin on Stefan's shoulder, letting him comfort her. She closed her eyes and was surprised to find that she did not feel like crying. She knew that once she was alone in her room she would cry for a good ten to fifteen minutes before going to sleep. She may even cry herself to sleep.

It was only when Elena heard a grunt coming from Damon's direction - right in front of her and behind Stefan - that she opened her eyes. Damon had broken the branch off the tree and pulled it out of his shoulder. She could see the bloody hole - only as a shimmering light reflected from the moon - in Damon's shoulder. If Stefan had done that to a human, they would be dead right now.

Elena saw all of this in a second or two. She saw Damon stagger backward, and his face become a mask of rage. She knew this face all too well. Damon wouldn't kill his brother, but he was certainly going to get his revenge. She felt Stefan tense from the noise he heard behind him right before she turned around, Stefan still in her arms.

At first, Elena didn't know what had happened. All she saw was Stefan - who was still in her arms - yell and look down. Time seemed to be going by way too slow. There was a roaring in Elena's ears, but she couldn't tell if it was coming from Stefan's yell or Damon's yell, who was still behind her.

The pain hit Elena before she could look down at what Stefan was looking at. Her shoulder was on fire, sending little jolts of pain throughout her entire body. Once her eyes focused enough, she could see what Stefan was looking at: there was a branch - bloody, either from Damon's blood or hers - going straight through the right side of her chest, just above her breast.

Elena heard an echoing, "Oh, God, no!" She couldn't tell if it was because her ears were deceiving her or because both Damon and Stefan had said it together. She took a breath, but almost automatically stopped herself because it hurt so bad. Her body didn't agree with her, though. It told her to keep breathing through the pain, that she needed oxygen even though it hurt. She was taking short, hiccupping breaths, sounding as if she was hyperventilating. Who knows? Maybe she was.

Even though it hurt, Elena moved her right arm - which was still wrapped around Stefan - up to his face. "Stefan," she whispered, but she couldn't tell if she had actually made a sound. Her knees turned to jelly at that moment, making her fall backwards. The branch - which had gone straight through Elena and into Stefan - came out of Stefan's chest, and she saw that it had barely gone into him. Maybe an inch or so had.

Steady arms caught her from behind, jostling her. The pain was now immense; it was all Elena could think about.

_I'm dying…_ she thought.

Stefan bent over her, dodging the branch that still protruded from her chest. She knew she had to hang on to life for just a few more moments, just enough to tell him what she needed to. "D-don't b-b-blame him." she whispered, hoping that he would listen to her.

"Elena, oh, God. Elena." Stefan cried, tears running down his face, hands not seeming to know where to rest on her.

"D-d-d" She had tried to tell him again not to blame Damon for this, but she just couldn't seem to get enough air.

Stefan finally decided to put his hand on her cheek. "I won't. I promise. Just don't speak, Elena." he whispered, tears running down his face.

Her eyes seemed to close of their own accord. She was just so tired! She could barely hear Stefan whispering her name, over and over. Suddenly, she heard another voice. One that said, "I am so sorry, Elena."

Who was that? Her brain desperately tried to recall a name. She knew who it was, if only she could remember… Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her brain was starting to turn off, probably out of lack of oxygen. Suddenly, the name Damon popped up. As fast as her eyes had closed by themselves, they opened again.

She was on the ground now, even though she didn't remember being put down or the pain that went along with that. Damon and Stefan were now both in front of her, looking down on her. "You," she tried to say, looking at Damon. No sound came out, but he must have read her lips.

"I know! I'm so, so sorry, Elena! Please forgive me. Oh, God…" he said. Even though his words were of horror, she could hear all the love he held for her in them. Elena found it strange that now that she was dying, she could admit anything to herself - even that Damon loved her as much as Stefan did.

"Do-" Elena was cut off by the sound of Damon's voice in her head.

_Oh, God, Elena, no. Please, don't die! Please! I'll do anything, anything… If you die…I'm going with you. I promise. I'll let Stefan kill me right now…_

_ No! _Elena screamed in her mind. She knew that Damon had heard it because his eyes popped open to look at her. _Don't you dare, Damon Salvatore. You live. If there's one last thing I'm asking you to do, it's to live._

Elena's eyes closed again, and she could vaguely hear hysterical pleading. She heard them saying her name, over and over again. When their pleading stopped, she thought it was because she was dead. She was scared, because if she was dead, then she wouldn't be going to Heaven. All she saw was darkness.

A wet sound caught her attention, something she had heard before. What was that sound? Then, almost immediately after she heard it, she felt something touch her lips. She knew that if she could feel something, then she was still alive.

Elena strained to open her eyes, getting them to crack. With a little more effort, she was able to half-open them. She was frightened to see that the edges of her vision had a black fog around them. She saw Stefan holding his arm to her mouth, his eyes wide. Damon was biting his wrist, looking at the branch that was still in her chest.

She automatically knew what they were trying to do, but she couldn't tell them to stop. She tried to, telepathically, but either she wasn't getting through to them or they couldn't hear her. She didn't want to be a vampire! Not right now. She'd thought that maybe in the future Stefan could turn her, but not right now.

Elena felt her entire body relax, and before she knew it, she was gone.

**Woo! Cliffhanger! XD Let me know if you guys have any ideas for the story - and I will totally give you credit if I put it in here - or if you have any questions. I will be happy to answer any. I really hope you like the story so far =]**


	3. Decisions, Decisions

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I have been crazy sick lately, and it totally sucks. But I finally got this chapter done. Yay! Let me know what you think =]**

Elena was waking up, but she didn't want to. This was the best rest she had gotten in a really long time. Usually, dreams kept her up at night. They never woke her, but they kept her tossing and turning. When she woke up, she wouldn't feel rested at all because her body wouldn't be still.

She was in the land between unconsciousness and consciousness; the place where you could hear things happening around you, but you weren't fully awake yet, so it seemed like a dream.

"Shush." she heard. "Look, she's moving."

There was a pause, and then she heard, "Yeah. I can see that."

Elena fought to sleep, but her mind told her that it was time to get up. She flipped over to her other side - the right side - and winced when her shoulder felt sore. It didn't hurt bad, it just felt like she'd been exercising and forgot to stretch her shoulder afterwards.

A moan escaped her lips, bringing everything she was feeling and hearing into focus. She was on something soft - a bed, most likely - but it wasn't _her _bed. Elena couldn't smell the lavender detergent that she always used on her bed sheets, but rather a fresh linen scent that most people used on their bedding.

"Elena? Elena, are you awake?" she heard Stefan ask.

"Maybe I shouldn't be here…" Damon said. "She probably hates me."

She was getting tired of all this babble. Who stays near someone sleeping and just continues talking? Elena was thinking about how rude the two of them were acting until what Damon had said sunk in.

"I…don't hate you…Damon…" she whispered, groggily.

Why would she hate him? Better yet, why would he ever think that she hated him? They'd been through so much together, too much for a lifetime. He'd saved her life countless times, and even been overprotective of her - so why would she hate him? A flash of something - something wet and gross sounding - went through Elena's mind, but she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

Finally, realizing that she couldn't go back to sleep and that Stefan and Damon were waiting for her to wake up, Elena opened her eyes.

She was in one of the rooms at the Salvatore boardinghouse. She couldn't tell which one because they all looked pretty much the same to her. The sheets were soft and cool underneath her, and she could tell that her hair would be in knots when she sat up. Stefan and Damon were both on her right side, sitting on their knees at the side of the bed, looking at her.

Elena yawned and stretched, hating that her shoulder was so sore. "Is it exciting to watch me sleep, or are you two going bonkers?" she asked, her eyes closed while stretching.

When no one said anything, Elena opened her eyes to look at them.

"You're okay." Stefan breathed, sounding as if he might cry.

Elena sat up, looking back and forth between brothers, confused. Stefan was obviously relieved about something, but Damon looked as if he might dart out of the room at any second. He was stock-still, watching Elena closely with big, round eyes. "Um…yeah, I'm okay. Why?"

Stefan looked like he didn't know what to do with himself for a moment. He got up, looking like he was going to sit on the bed, looking at Damon. "You'll remember soon enough. Damon, should we go? Let her get her thoughts together?"

Elena looked to Damon, who was still staring at her. To anyone else, it would look as if they were having a stare down, but Elena could see the pain in Damon's face, hidden just below the surface. This was strange to her because Damon usually kept his emotions hidden. She reached forward to put her hand on his, but his hand pulled away at the last second.

When Elena tilted her head in confusion, Damon whispered, "I'm so sorry, Elena."

Suddenly, Elena wasn't there anymore. She was laying on the ground, her eyes closed, pain searing her right shoulder. **[NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ THE LAST CHAPTER BEFORE I COULD FIX IT, THE LAST CHAPTER SAID LEFT SHOULDER, AND THAT WAS WRONG.] **"I'm so sorry, Elena." Damon was saying, but Elena couldn't remember who he was at the moment.

Elena gasped, back in the present. Stefan and Damon had gotten up and were walking toward the door, but when they heard her, they stopped and turned around. Stefan looked hopeful, but Damon looked worried.

"I…I remember something… Did I… I mean, no, that's impossible because I'm here, but…" Elena stopped rambling, another memory flashing before her eyes. Damon's grunt went through her ears, and she turned at the last moment, protecting Stefan. "Oh my God." Elena whispered, remembering everything now.

She looked over to the two brothers, expecting them to tell her that she had just dreamt everything - that there was no way she died and they turned her into a vampire. Or, almost turned her into a vampire. She would still have to feed…but just thinking about that made her cringe. Damon's eyes never left her face, his eyebrows scrunched together, trying not to show how he was feeling.

"I, uh, gotta go." Damon said, and was gone before she could say anything. For some reason Elena felt like her heart had dropped into her stomach. She'd wanted to explain to him that she didn't blame him, that it wasn't his fault, it was hers…

Stefan sat on the edge of the bed, looking expectantly at her. "Do you remember?"

She nodded. "It's still a little fuzzy in some parts, but I know what happened. Stefan, please tell me that you took me to the hospital and I'm recovering. Please, please tell me that some miracle happened…"

Just as she knew he would, Stefan shook his head slowly. "No miracle, Elena. I…" Stefan looked down, trying to think of what to say.

"No, Stefan, it's alright. You don't have to say anything." Elena told him, desperately wanting to make him feel better.

Stefan was suddenly right next to her, stroking her hair and face. "No, it's not. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry that I didn't think. I could've…" He closed his eyes, looking down. A tear fell, and Elena wiped it off his cheek. He opened his eyes to look directly into hers. "I could've saved you. If I had been thinking… I could have gotten that branch out of you and healed you. You wouldn't be…this."

Although Elena desperately wished that he _had _thought fast and saved her, she couldn't be mad or upset with Stefan. "No. Don't think like that. You did save me, maybe in a different way than we want, but you saved me."

"Elena, the transformation isn't complete. You have to drink. _Human _blood." he reminded her.

She shook her head. "Stefan… I don't know if I can do that. Even if it means-"

"No." Stefan's face was a mask of steel now. "Elena, _please_. I can't lose you." Elena opened her mouth to protest, but Stefan put a finger up to her lips. "Don't. Don't make a decision right now. You still have fifteen hours. I'm gonna go now. I don't want to…do something I'll regret."

At first, Elena didn't know what he was talking about, and then it clicked in her mind. He didn't want to do what he did to Damon, to her. Didn't want to persuade her into becoming a vampire for his own selfish reasons. She heard the door click closed before she realized Stefan was gone.

Elena was confused about what to do next. She had never been in any kind of predicament like this before. So - she decided in a flash - she would go about her normal routine while thinking about her next big move. She went into the bathroom - avoiding the mirror - and started running hot water in the shower. While she prepared to wash, she tried to remember things.

She knew that she had died because she was trying to protect Stefan from getting hurt. Even though she knew that the wound that had killed her would've only hurt Stefan, she couldn't make herself regret doing it. If Damon had succeeded in skewering Stefan, they may have gotten into an even larger battle, ultimately killing one of them. That was something Elena wouldn't be able to deal with.

A strange flittering in her stomach made Elena start gasping for air. She was hyperventilating, but she didn't know why exactly. Was it the fact that she would now have to make the decision to be a vampire or die? Or was it the thought of living without the Salvatore brothers?

_Brothers? _she thought. For a moment, her mind wandered, thinking of a world without Damon in it. Her stomach started flipping again, but she wasn't sure why. Something big must have happened - something she couldn't remember clearly - that was causing this emotion.

The hot water helped to soothe Elena and she made a decision: she would go say her goodbyes to her family. Or, at least, the only family she had left. She also needed to talk to Bonnie and Caroline, maybe even Matt. This wasn't to say that Elena had decided to die instead of turn, but rather that she would tell them what had happened to her. That, no matter what, Elena would never be the same person again.

And so she snuck out the double doors connecting her room to the outside.

**[FIVE HOURS LATER]**

There was no way another tear would fall from Elena's eyes. She felt as if she was all washed up. Telling Alaric what had happened wasn't so hard. He knew that she was under enough pressure at the moment and wouldn't want to see him all torn up. He had told her that he would understand her motives for either choice she made, putting on a brave face as he did. But that didn't stop Elena from seeing the pain in his eyes as she said goodbye.

When Elena called Jeremy, he had been excited to hear from her. They talked about normal things for a couple of minutes, but Elena knew she couldn't put it off any longer. Once she told him, Jeremy was frantic. He'd yelled at her, telling her she was stupid for putting herself in that situation. But Elena knew better. Jeremy always turned to anger when he was trying to hide the fact that he was upset. She'd heard the edge of hysteria in his voice, and knew that as soon as he hit the "end call" button he would be crying. Sure enough, three minutes after they hung up, Jeremy sent her a text saying that she was the only real family he had left. She sat in her car for a good thirty minutes, crying for Jeremy and herself as well.

Luckily, Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt had all been at Caroline's house. They had been planning a trip to the lake Elena's parents had had a lake house at.

"You have perfect timing. We were just about to call you." Caroline piped as they walked into her living room.

Once inside, Elena assured them that she would give them the keys to the lake house so that they could stay inside, where it was cool, instead of having to camp out in the hot. From there, Caroline went into her normal banter about what they were going to do, how Elena and Stefan should come, and who else they should bring with them. As usual, Bonnie was the first to notice Elena's silence.

"Hey, are you alright?" Bonnie asked, interrupting Caroline. Caroline must have noticed the tone of Bonnie's voice because she didn't protest her interruption like she normally would.

With all of them staring at her, Elena took a deep breath and launched into the story, staring at the rug under Caroline's coffee table as she did.

"Some of it is still pretty fuzzy, which is normal after…well, dying. But that's pretty much what happened." Elena finished.

There was a long silence until Matt finally said, "Damon really did that? I know that he can be…an asshole, but I can't imagine him doing something like that. Especially to _you_."

"He didn't mean to." Elena was surprised to find herself defending Damon. "You know how Damon can be. He's impulsive. If I hadn't have turned - which he couldn't predict I was going to - then everything would fine right now. With me, that is."

Caroline had stood up while Elena told them what happened, and was now pacing back and forth. "It's all going to be okay. I can help you through the transition. It's a little difficult at first, but you can get through it if I could."

"Caroline," Elena began, "I don't know if I'm going to change or…not."

It seemed like an endless silence after that. Then, all at once, Matt and Caroline were protesting together. Tears were falling with the words. Bonnie didn't speak, but Elena saw the tears that formed in her eyes as she stared at Elena with such concentration that Elena thought her head would burst into flames. That was entirely possible, too.

In the end, they were all hugging and crying before Elena left. Matt and Caroline told Elena that they thought she should turn, but Bonnie was just like Alaric, always the understanding one.

From there, Elena went to the cemetery to speak with her parents, asking them for signs of what she should do. Of course, there were none. Elena wound up leaning her head back on their headstone, closing her eyes and thinking. Some things came back to her, and Elena realized that the reason she had felt so queasy about Damon all morning was because he was going to kill himself.

Damon opened the door to the boardinghouse before Elena even had the chance to knock.

"Oh. Hey." Elena said, wondering if he hated her for telling his secret.

He was stock still as he held the door in his hands, finally moving to the side so that she could come in. He didn't say a word until she had sat down on one of the couches in the lounge.

"So," he began, "did you decide what you're going to do?" He knocked back a glass of scotch, pouring himself another one right after.

Elena was suddenly furious with him. "Don't pretend like you don't care about what I do."

Apparently, Damon hadn't expected this. He stopped pouring his drink, put everything down, and turned to look at her. "I don't. Why should I when your decision had no effect on me?"

There was a mix of anger and hurt fluttering around in Elena's chest, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. Instead, she decided to fling something back at him. "Where's Stefan?"

Just as she knew it would, the mention of Stefan had Damon's I-don't-care-expression turning into one of surprise. In a flash, Damon composed himself, and said, "Gone hunting. He eats when he's stressed."

"Why?" Elena whispered, looking at the ground.

She heard the sound of Damon's shoes tapping on the ground as he sat in a chair across from her. "I don't know. I've never been much of a compulsive eater, myself. But, then again, my brother and I are two very different vampires…"

Elena was confused for a moment, until she realized she hadn't been clear. She looked up into Damon's eyes and said, "No, that's not what I meant. Why did you do it?"

Of course, she knew that Damon would be surprised by her comment. What she didn't expect was the hurt expression on his face. "Elena… You know Stefan and I have always fought. Sibling rivalry, and all. Believe me, if I had known you were stupid enough to put yourself between that branch and Stefan, I never would have done it."

Elena found herself standing in frustration, walking over to Damon and squatting in front of him. He almost pulled back when she grabbed his hand, but decided against it and let her hold it. "No, Damon. Why did you try to kill yourself? How could you do that to us?"

"You weren't supposed to remember any of that." he replied, looking away.

"Maybe not, but I do. And I want to know why."

"You already know."

"Damon!" Elena hissed, losing the battle with her anger and frustration. The transformation must have been doing things to her because Damon looked at her so quickly she didn't even see him move. One moment he was looking at the front door, the next his eyes were on her face. "It can't just be…me that moved you to do something so horrible."

He sighed, rubbing his fingers along hers. "Elena…" He stopped, seeming to find the right words, when suddenly his hands were cupping her face. "No. It wasn't just you. It was, but it…wasn't. That doesn't make any sense. I…" His eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"It's okay." Elena whispered, putting her hand on top of his, the way she had done the night before. "Tell me."

"I want love, Elena. As confusing and strange as that may seem, it's all I want. It's why I became…_this_. Believe it or not, I was once only a man, one that didn't like to kill or harm other people. All I wanted was a girl that I could love, who would love me back. That's why I wanted Katherine.

"But it's what Stefan wanted, too. It's what he still wants, but before you came along, he found a way to deal with his despair better than I did. He became a better person. I did just the opposite. Women only want me for my looks or my bad-guy attitude, not because they are actually interested in me. Hell, half the women I _date_ are compelled to do it.

"It may seem easy to you. To get love, that is. People want to love you, Elena. Because you're so wonderful, kind, and just amazing. People are drawn to you; like moths to light. Love it all I want, but the only way I'll be happy is if I have it with you. I'm in love with _you_, Elena. And if I can't have you…well, what's the point in living?"

This speech was even more beautiful than his last. Or, at least, Elena thought it was because she still didn't remember everything he had said to her last night. In that moment, no one existed but Damon and her. Before she even realized what she was doing, Elena had moved forward and begun kissing Damon.

The ferocity in which Damon kissed her back proved that every word he had said was true. Something happened to Elena then, something she never thought would happen in a million years. She saw herself with Damon instead of Stefan. If she were to make the decision to be a vampire, then they could be together forever. She would mend Damon's heart; turn him into the sweet man he was when he was with her. They would never be able to have kids or a normal life, but they would have each other, and that was all that mattered.

"Sorry to interrupt."

The picture of Elena and Damon together in her mind shattered at Stefan's voice. Everything she had felt a moment ago melted away, leaving her feeling embarrassed and confused. Stefan wasn't looking at her like he used to. Instead, she felt like he would burn a hole in her head if he had the power to do so.

"Stefan! I…I…" Elena had no idea what to say. This isn't what it looks like? No, it was exactly what it looked like. It didn't mean anything, it was just an impulse? No. It was just an impulse, but it turned into so much more.

Looking back and forth between the Salvatore brothers, Elena felt as if her whole world were shattering. Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, Elena was out the door, running through the woods.

_This is weird…_ she thought. Apparently, she was so far into the transformation now that she could move with vampiric speed. Stefan and Damon could easily run after her, but she knew they wouldn't. Not right now.

Elena wasn't paying attention to where she was going or what she was doing. Her head was spinning with everything that had just happened. She kept going through times with Stefan - moments that were now fading away as she went through the transformation - or those wonderful conversations with Damon. She had no idea what to do, and it made her feel helpless.

That's probably why Elena had no clue she was completing the transformation until she looked down at the young girl in her arms. There was blood everywhere, and it shocked Elena so badly that she ran further into the woods - away from the house she had been near - shaking. She heard the scream that came from one of the girl's female family members and had to take deep breaths not to go back for their blood, too.

In an instant, Elena knew what she had to do. She couldn't go through this transformation with the brothers around her. It would only complicate things. Even though they could help, they would do much more damage to her. Without going to her house to grab things, or say goodbye to anyone else, Elena ran as hard as she could. Out of Mystic Falls, and out of her old life forever.


	4. Unexpected

** Sorry for the wait, guys, but here is the next chapter of You Can't Always Get What You Want. I really hope you enjoy it! You're in for a surprise!**

**[THREE YEARS LATER]**

Elena hated not being able to go out in the day. If there was one thing she regretted about leaving Mystic Falls, it was that she didn't get Bonnie to make her a ring that would allow her to go out in sunlight. But that was all about to change.

She'd just moved to a new town. She had only been there for about a week, but people were already talking about her. Every now and then, she would hear children walking by the house she'd rented, talking about how it was so strange that she never came out during the day. Adults were even worse, though. They never really paid attention to the fact that she was never out and about when the sun was up. Instead, they talked about how scandalous it was that she - at her young age - was living on her own in a town where no one knew her.

Elena didn't really care about any of this. Those people didn't even know her, so why should she bother with them? Every time Elena moved somewhere new, people would talk about her. But after a while, the talk would die down. This town was different, though.

Yesterday, a girl about seventeen came up to her and asked her a very strange question…

"Are you a vampire?" the girl asked, placing a container of sugar on Elena's table. She had been sitting in the coffee shop, reading a book while holding a cup of coffee in her hands. Elena had loved frappes when she was alive, but now any kind of coffee disgusted her. It was so bitter compared to wonderful, sweet blood.

Elena looked up into brown eyes that looked just like Bonnie's. For a moment, she thought she might cry. There were so many times when she'd started to pack her things, saying that she was going back to Mystic Falls - if only to see it one more time. But she never really left.

"Excuse me?" Elena asked as the girl pushed her short, curly red hair behind her ear.

It was strange when the girl gave her an are-you-stupid look. "Look, I'm sorry to be so…blunt. My name is Candy. I'm a witch. I thought I'd see if you'd deny being a vampire or not."

Elena laughed, filling the silence in the air. Everyone who was studying gave her dirty looks. She shrugged and told Candy, "I am. Why?"

Candy moved from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable. "Well, this is a pretty small town. People…pay attention to things. You're causing quite a commotion and if you get discovered, it won't be long until me and my family are discovered, too. So, you have two choices. Either you leave town, or you let me make you a ring."

Elena sighed, finally marking her page in her book and setting it down. "I would like a ring… But I'm not going to take it for nothing. How can I help you?"

Candy was obviously confused. Her nose and eyebrows scrunched up right before she gave a little giggle. "Well, that's a first."

"What?"

"A vampire offering to do something for someone else. I've always known vampires to be pretty selfish. No offense." she explained.

"None taken." Elena replied. "How many vampires do you know?"

Candy rolled her eyes. "Too many to count. They come through here all the time. Well, the ones that have nowhere to go, that is. You're the first to ever actually stay here longer than a couple of days."

"Why do so many vampires come here? I didn't even know about them until I was - Never mind. Do you know why so many come through here?" Elena asked. She hated when she would accidently start talking about her past. It always brought up so many conflicting emotions, and she had no idea what to do with them. There was one point in her life when she thought about letting go of her humanity, just to get rid of the pain, like Damon did. But she wouldn't ever actually go through with it. Letting go of your humanity and then getting it back was even worse than never losing it at all.

"Oh, something about the ley lines." Candy rolled her eyes, obviously hating that theory. "Look, I gotta get back to work, but I'll stop by your place tomorrow evening and drop off the ring."

Before Elena could say anything, Candy was running back to the counter.

So, here she was, in the middle of the day, wishing she had gotten that ring last night. Elena usually passed the time with books, loving the fact that she could escape her own reality for a little while. TV wasn't the same as it used to be. It only reminded her of home. She was out of books, and she desperately wanted to buy more at the bookstore. But she couldn't do it with the sun up.

Elena decided to try and take a nap before Candy showed up. She never had to worry about over-sleeping anymore. Her vampiric hearing was so good that she could hear doorbells ringing down the street.

She tossed and turned, plagued by dreams of a tall, dark stranger coming to her bedroom window in Mystic Falls. She'd run down the stairs, but every time she would turn around, she would see ice blue eyes. Elena used to have this dream all the time when she was still human, back when Stefan and Damon first got to Mystic Falls. But there was a key difference between this dream and her previous dreams.

Damon wasn't smiling. In all her dreams, Damon was always giving her a smile, whether it was charming or scary. In this dream - which she had had every day for two months now - his mouth was pulled down in a grimace, his eyes pleading for her to stay with him.

Elena sat up straight, hating that she could never get any rest. It seemed like Damon was following her everywhere she went now. She thought it strange that Stefan had never made an appearance in her dreams. Yes, she knew that Stefan loved her and wanted her with him, but he wasn't the one who was always begging her to stay with him or go to him. No, that had been Damon.

The doorbell rang then, making Elena jump. She'd been so shaken up over that dream that she'd totally forgotten about Candy.

"Here." Candy thrust the ring into Elena's hands as Elena opened the door. "I don't have much time before work. Can I come in?"

Elena moved to the side, letting Candy in. Candy took her time looking around the place, occasionally smiling. After a couple of minutes of this, Elena cleared her throat. "I thought you said you didn't have much time?"

Candy nodded, looking away from Elena and back to the fireplace. "I don't. But I just… My parents haven't allowed me back here since my grandmother died. They thought that it would trigger an emotional breakdown. I was very close to my grandma."

For a moment, Elena was confused, but then she put two and two together. "This was your grandmother's house."

Elena didn't phrase it as a question, but Candy answered anyways. "Yes." Candy took a deep breath, sitting down on the couch where Elena had tossed and turned just a few moments ago. "Now, if you have any more questions for me, ask. I won't be able to meet you after this. I'm leaving this weekend for college."

"College? You seem a little young."

Candy gave a little giggle, making Elena smile. Vampires didn't usually act like this, but Elena constantly found herself reverting back to the old Elena, the human Elena. "Well, I'm pretty smart. Plus, I've got magic…" Candy wiggled her fingers toward Elena, pretending like she was putting a spell on her.

"Oh." Elena laughed. She walked over next to the couch, sitting near Candy, but not too close. She'd only come into contact with three witches since she was changed, and she learned that they really didn't like to be touched by vampires. "I only have one question for you: do you know if either of the Salvatore vampires have been through here?"

Candy's expression went from cool and collected to shocked. She stood up abruptly and walked over to the fireplace. "You don't know where they are?"

"What?" Elena asked, completely confused.

When Candy turned back toward Elena, she looked just as confused. "Did something happen to you? I mean, I didn't really expect you to remember this place when you got here, but…I never expected this."

Elena got up and walked across the room, being careful not to go too fast. "Candy, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never been here before."

Candy laughed. A really hard, hysterical laugh. When she was finished, she took one look at the expression on Elena's face and sobered. "What happened to you? Did a witch put a spell on you or something?"

"No. Candy, what you're saying makes no sense. I've never been here before. If I had, I would remember." she explained.

"What's your name again?" Candy asked, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes were narrowed, and Elena could hear Candy's heart beating harder and faster than it was a moment ago. Something was up, and Elena had a feeling that she was about to figure out what it was.

"Elena. Why?"

"Oh my God." Candy whispered, taking a few steps back and almost running into the fireplace. "How is this possible?"

Elena took a deep breath, trying to control herself. She was growing more and more frustrated, and she knew that if Candy didn't explain what the hell was going on soon, she would do something she would regret later. "Candy, I think we need to take this one step at a time. You need to sit down over here and tell me everything."

Candy nodded and sat down on the couch again. Elena sat down at the exact same time as Candy, making her jump at Elena's vampiric speed. Elena mumbled an apology as Candy got her thoughts together.

"Well, a couple of months ago, these three vampires came into town. I knew the moment they came in the coffee shop what they were, because of all the vampires coming through here and whatnot. There were two guys and a girl. I asked them what they were doing here, and they said they were celebrating a wedding.

"They stayed for three days and then left. Well, one of them kept coming back, saying that he liked the place and that he was thinking of getting a place here. He did, but he only comes along once every two weeks. Or, we think he goes away and comes back. He could be just staying in his house. Anyways, the reason why I am so confused is because you were with him."

Elena felt as if she had run into a brick wall. She hadn't run into Katherine since she was made a vampire, and she really didn't want to. That woman was just a mess. "Candy, do you remember any of their names?"

Candy nodded. "I only know the girl's name. Katherine."

"If I told you what their names were, do you think you'd be able to recognize them?" Elena asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm pretty good at things like that. I may not know the answer, but if I hear it, I'll know then. Shoot."

"Katherine Pierce?" she asked. Candy nodded. But Elena already knew that Katherine had been here considering the fact that the woman looked just like her. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Stefan Salvatore?" Candy nodded again. "Damon Salvatore?" Yet another nod. "Do you know whose wedding they were celebrating?"

"Well, they came back one more time after that, saying that they were celebrating another wedding and that they really like coming here after one because it was so peaceful. The first time it was some friends of theirs. I think the guys name was…Klaus? Yeah, I think that was it." she explained.

Elena thought about this for a moment. Klaus? Really? Why in the world would they go to Klaus's wedding? Especially Katherine. She was more afraid of him than any of the rest of them were. Could vampires even get married? Well, she supposed the answer was yes if Klaus got married. "And the girl?"

Candy closed her eyes, obviously trying to help Elena. "I don't… Wait! Caroline! The girl's name was Caroline."

Although Elena was shocked that Caroline had married Klaus, she couldn't help the sadness in her heart. She had missed one of her best friend's wedding. For what seemed like the millionth time, Elena chastised herself on running away. "And…" Elena had to stop because she realized that she had been speaking so low that Candy couldn't hear her. She cleared her throat and tried again. "And the other wedding was whose?"

"One of the Salvatore brothers." Candy whispered back.

Elena's heart started to race. Although she had thought that vampires' hearts didn't beat when she was a human, she realized now that they did, it was just too shallow for other people to feel or hear. So it was more like Elena's heart was beating a little slower than a human's.

Either Stefan or Damon had gotten married. Well, that was fine. Right? That meant that one of them was happy. One of them had moved on and found the love they so desperately wanted. Elena tried to think about how she would feel about it with each of the brothers.

If it was Stefan, Elena would be heartbroken. She had loved Stefan so much, and she still did, but she knew that it was best for him if she moved on. If she found out it was Stefan, she would have to find him and congratulate, but that didn't mean that she was happy about it.

If it was Damon… Elena was surprised to find out that she would be just as heartbroken if it was Damon. In those last days she had with the Salvatore brothers, she had realized that she loved Damon, too. That he was just as important to her as Stefan was. But there was one thing that was different with Damon than it was with Stefan: if Damon had moved on and married someone else, Elena couldn't blame him. He had poured his heart out to her, and she had betrayed him. She'd told Stefan his secret, and that wasn't fair. Then, he told her just how much he loved her again, and that time she repaid him by running away. Yes, if Damon had moved on, she had no right to be upset.

That was the problem with the Salvatore brothers. Both she and Katherine had fallen in love with both of them because they were just so…perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, but close enough. Stefan had his problems with coming to terms with what he was, and Damon could be a monster at times, but when it was just Elena and either one of them, they were both so sweet it almost hurt. But, in the very least, this little predicament could help Elena with her decision of who she wanted. That is, if they would take her back, whoever it was. Elena knew that this sounded really bad, and that it was bad, but she couldn't help the thought.

"Which one?" she whispered. "Do you remember?"

Candy nodded. "I do, but… Do you have any water? I'm really thirsty."

Elena resisted the urge to reach out and smack Candy. She chose this moment to be thirsty? Well, Elena was just as thirsty, and it would be easy to reach out and drain Candy dry. But Elena would never do that. She hadn't killed a single person since she left Mystic Falls. No, she didn't drink animal blood like Stefan - it was gross and she couldn't stomach it. But she didn't kill people, either. Instead, she would take little sips here and there from different people until she was full. It was easier to do in a big city, but small towns would work, too. She just couldn't take as much.

Elena got up from the couch and went into the kitchen, moving as fast as she could. She grabbed a water bottle from her fridge - which she had stocked up with food and drink just in case a human guest came over - and ran back to the living room. Candy took the water bottle carefully, making sure she didn't brush her fingers against Elena's. After she'd had her fill of water, she said, "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Elena giggled. She knew that the only reason she had done this was because she was so scared of what Candy would tell her about the marriage. When Candy gave her a look that said she didn't find that amusing, Elena said, "Go ahead."

"How do you pay for all of this?"

"When I was human, I was the last left in my family. We had a generous amount of money and it was all left to me when my aunt died. I've only been a vampire for a couple of years, so the money hasn't run out yet. I suppose not that I have this ring, when it runs out, I will get a job. Thank you for the ring, by the way." she answered.

But that was a complete lie. Elena actually stole other people's money. She felt really bad about it, but it was the only way she could survive. She would take a little drink from someone, compel them to forget, and while she was at it, compel them to go get money out of an ATM and give it to her. The only reason she didn't compel them to give her credit or debit cards was because she knew that they would be able to track where she had used them and then use cameras to find out who had taken them. This way, when they went back to the cameras at the ATM used, they would see themselves getting the money out. It would confuse them, but that wasn't her problem.

"You're welcome. You know, I actually like you, Elena." Candy said, before taking another drink of her water. "But back to business. It was Stefan, I believe. The one with the lighter hair, right?"

Elena nodded, feeling the knot in her chest tighten. It hurt knowing that Stefan had moved on, but Elena was surprised to feel butterflies in her stomach. She didn't know what that really meant. "So, do you know who he got married to?"

Candy looked to the ground, clearly not wanting to answer. "Well, he… He got married to you. Or, Katherine. The girl who looks like you. That's why I was so confused when you came into the coffee shop alone. I actually… Well, this is a little embarrassing, but I honestly couldn't tell if you were a vampire or not at first. It wasn't until I was right next to you that I could tell."

Elena didn't breathe. There was no way that Stefan would've married Katherine. He hated her. Damon hated her, too, and that was surprising because Damon had loved her for almost a hundred and fifty years. So how could Stefan just turn around and marry Katherine?

A weird techno song coming from Candy brought Elena back out of her thoughts. "Shit." Candy cursed. It was a little weird to hear that coming from this little girl. But, then again, it was also weird finding out that she was a witch. "Hold on, that's my phone."

As she answered it and talked to what sounded like her mother, Elena found herself thinking about what all this meant. Stefan and Katherine were married now, which meant they were probably off starting their life together. But Candy had said something about one of them living here. No, not living here, but owning property here and coming around every two weeks. Did that mean that Damon was here? Or did that mean that Damon had a house here and would be coming into town soon?

Elena was wondering if she would have the strength to face Damon when she heard the click on Candy's phone shutting. "Sorry, that was my mom. I gotta go. She's a witch, too, and sometimes she gets these feelings that I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell her I was here, or tell her about you. I'll just tell her that I was meeting my boyfriend at the football stadium and let her mind wonder about what exactly it was we were doing." Suddenly, Candy blushed, probably realizing that she'd said a little too much to Elena, a vampire she barely knew.

But Elena didn't guffaw at her. Instead, she gave a little giggle. "I remember those days. It wasn't too long ago, you know? And don't give your mom too much trouble. She's just worried about you. Believe me, when she's gone, you'll miss her overprotectiveness."

Candy saw right through Elena. Elena could tell by the expression on her face that she'd realized how much Elena had to leave behind when she turned. "Yeah, you're right. It can just be frustrating sometimes."

Elena walked to the door with Candy, thanking her for all the helpful information she'd given her. Candy mumbled a "you're welcome" right before Elena opened the door. As she walked out, Candy turned to Elena and said, "I, uh, actually hope to see you around. If you need a job, I can put in a good word with my boss. He's pretty picky about who he hires, but I bet you could convince him."

Elena was confused for a moment, but then she saw the cute smile on Candy's face. She laughed as she realized that Candy was talking about using compulsion. "Oh, I don't think I could do that. But thank you, anyway. And I hope to see you around, too." Elena was surprised to feel that she really did want to see Candy again. She was the closest thing to a friend Elena had had since she left Mystic Falls.

Candy turned to leave just as Elena remembered one more thing. "Oh, Candy, wait." When Candy turned toward her again, she said, "Do you know where Damon lives?"

"Oh, yeah. Everyone does, even though no one's had the courage to knock on his door. Not even girl scouts." She laughed at her own joke before continuing. "It's about two block from the coffee shop. The two-story house with the black picket fence around it. It used to be white until he painted it." She shrugged.

Elena smiled at her as she thanked her and then went to close the door as Candy walked down the path to the street. Elena had just closed the door when there was a knock. Elena opened it, expecting Damon to show up out of nowhere like he usually did, but found Candy standing there looking sheepish.

"I'm sorry, I just had to… Well…" With that, Candy stepped forward and hugged Elena, surprising her. She'd really have had to have made an impact on this young witch for her to hug her. "I'm sorry about your mom, Elena." she whispered, still holding Elena.

Elena thought she might cry, but she managed to keep a hold on herself as she said, "Thank you, Candy. That means a lot." Then Candy scurried off, waving at Elena as she made it to the street. Elena made a mental note that Candy was no longer an almost-friend, but a genuine friend. The first she'd had in three years.

Looking out the window, Elena made sure that she tracked Candy's footsteps until she was out of earshot. Thinking that enough time had gone by that Candy would be far away by now - and that she had gone in the opposite direction than the coffee shop - Elena went out the door before she could chicken out.

Elena flew by houses and buildings, going as fast as she could. A couple of people were walking down the street, but they didn't even see one hair on Elena's head as she went by. The most that would happen as Elena went by them would be a gust of air, which they would in no way think, "Hey, that gust of air came from nowhere. There must be a vampire going by." Elena smiled at her inside joke until she realized that she looked stupid standing in front of the scary guy's house with a giant smile on her face.

She walked up to the door and knocked, even though she knew Damon would hear her walking on his porch from a mile away. Literally. She stood there for a few moments, waiting for him, but an answer never came. She cocked her head to the side, listening for any movement inside. Nothing. He must be out hunting, or not in town at the moment.

Even though Elena knew that this would look suspicious to anyone who might see her, and that Damon probably wouldn't like it, Elena tried the doorknob. It was unlocked, which made sense when you thought about it. No one would really want to break into his house since he was known as the scary guy in town to most people and the vampire in town to the others.

Elena was glad that Damon was a vampire because she didn't need permission to come inside the house. The only time she needed permission was when a human lived in the house. Walking into the little room that held two doorways - one leading to the living room, the other to dining room, just like her house - the staircase to upstairs, and a little hallway to the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, Elena could smell the scent of Damon in the air. She couldn't smell specifically what he smelled like because she had never smelled him as a vampire before, but she could smell his signature cologne, and almost cried at the scent.

Walking through his house, she noticed that he didn't have too many personal belongings with him, meaning that he probably didn't stay here often. So Candy was right: Damon only came here once every two weeks. That didn't matter, though. Elena would be here for a lot longer than two weeks unless something drove her out, and he would come around in time.

The stairs creaked as she walked up them, and Elena couldn't help thinking that Damon had once gone up these very same stairs. She was surprised at just how emotional she was. Yes, she knew that she had missed home, but she didn't know exactly how much she had missed it until now. If someone had told her three years ago that she would leave Mystic Falls and miss Damon, she never would have believed them. But here she was, praying that Damon would come home soon so that she could hold onto him and never let go.

Upstairs, she could go into three different rooms. She picked the one directly in front of her. It was the master bathroom and it had a door on the right side of it, which she predicted to lead to the master bedroom. At least, she'd noticed that in every house, there was at least one bedroom that had its own bathroom, and that there was always a door connecting the two. Elena thought about going into the bedroom, but she was a little afraid at what she might find. She didn't know if she was quite ready to go in there.

So, she walked back out of the bathroom and into the door on her right - the opposite door than what she thought was the bedroom. It turned out to be an office and library in one. Elena recognized some books that had been in the Salvatore Boardinghouse, and some that seemed new. The desk had a couple of notebooks and pens on it, but other than that it was bare. She tried to open a few of the drawers, but they were all locked. She thought about breaking the locks - she could have easily if she tried - but decided that she didn't want to break Damon's things.

Going back into the hallway, Elena was suddenly unsure that she wanted to go into Damon's bedroom. Maybe she should just wait until Damon came back. But, at the same time, she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to see Damon. If he only came to town every two weeks, then he may just hole up in his house, never giving Elena the chance to know if he was there or not. Sure, Elena could come back to his house every night and wait outside, listening to see if he was there, but that would be creepy to other people who saw her.

So, steeling herself not to chicken out, she opened the door to the bedroom. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small, either. There was a bed underneath a window that looked to the back of the house on the left side of the room, a small bedside table next to the bed to the right, and to the right of that, an almost bare bookcase. A small Chester drawer stood on the wall to the left, with a TV on top of it and a satellite receiver on top. Other than that, the room was bare, which left a lot of space in the room. Elena didn't know what he would do with all that space, but she wasn't really thinking about that at the moment.

Something had caught Elena's attention, and she couldn't think about anything other than it. Walking slowly, trying to tell herself that it wasn't what she thought, she made her way to the bedside table. On top, there was a lamp and a picture-frame, but she couldn't tell what the picture was in the dark, even with her vampiric vision.

In three years of being a vampire, Elena had never seen her hands shake. But, at this moment, she could clearly see the twitching in her hands as she turned on the lamp. She gasped, gingerly picking up the picture and feeling her eyes fill with tears. She had never imagined that anything like this would happen after she left Mystic Falls.

It was a picture of she and Damon, back when she was human. It was from the time they had gone to Bree's bar - the witch that Damon was friends with - and drank and just had an amazing time together. It was the first time Elena had ever really had fun with Damon. She couldn't remember much about it - because her human memories weren't as clear as her vampire memories, and she was a little buzzed at the time from drinking - but she did remember being happy. She also remembered something about pickles. Wondering why in the hell she would be thinking about pickles, she suddenly remembered. Damon had teased her about not liking pickles on her burgers, that everyone loved pickles.

A half-laugh-half-sob escaped Elena's throat as the tears spilled out of her eyes and dropped on the picture. She was so engrossed in the moment and trying to remember everything that had happened the day they'd gone out to the bar, that Elena didn't have time to react to the creaking of floorboards at what she judged to be the entrance to the room.

"God, what are you doing here, Katherine? Trouble in paradise with Stefan again?"

At the sound of his voice, Elena didn't know what to do. On one hand, she wanted to turn around and launch herself in his arms. Find comfort in something she associated with home. On the other hand, she was afraid of how he would react to finding her here - and worried that he would throw her when she launched herself at him, thinking she was Katherine - so she wanted to just turn around. In the end, she decided to go with the latter and watch how he reacted. Then, if he had the right reaction, she would go to him.

Telling herself not to get her hopes up about him being happy to see her, Elena turned around slowly. She didn't realize her eyes were closed until she heard him gasp and her eyes popped open.

Damon looked exactly the same, but that didn't surprise her. He was a vampire, after all. He wore black boots, dark blue jeans, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. It was a different jacket than the leather one he'd had before, but it looked just as good on him. His hair - still as black as night - was just a little longer than before, but he hadn't done anything with it. It looked absolutely amazing on him. His ice blue eyes were wide, making him look like he'd seen a ghost. Then again, seeing Elena was probably the equivalent of seeing a ghost.

Out of nowhere, Damon fell to his knees. "Elena?" he whispered. All the emotions going through him now where clear at the sound of his voice.

Elena had never really been good with reunions. In fact, the only one she'd really had other than some supernatural being coming to surprise her was when she'd met up with a friend one summer at camp who she had become friends with the previous year. Even then, when the other girl ran and hugged her, Elena had stupidly said, "Wanna go to the mess hall and get some pudding?"

So, now, Elena merely said, "How could you tell?"

A tear fell down Damon's face. Elena was about to go to him and tell him that everything would be alright, that she was so sorry for leaving him, when he said, "But…you were dead."

** I am really sorry about the wait for this chapter, but I hope that it was long enough for you guys to be satisfied that it's been so long. I absolutely LOVED writing this chapter! It was my favorite by far! Well, so far, at least =] Let me know what you think!**


	5. Hope

**Oh man! I am soooo loving this story! Lol. I bet you're glad that I'm finally updating it more than once every couple of weeks, huh? I know, I'm pretty lousy sometimes. But, hopefully, I'll be able to get a couple of chapters up each week. Enjoy!**

"What? Damon, that makes no sense. I'm right here." Elena said, crossing the space between she and Damon and crouching down in front of him. She vaguely remembered the last day that she was human and in Mystic Falls. She had crouched down in front of Damon just like she was now, only that time he was sitting in a chair.

Damon was looking at the ground, eyes unseeing. "This is different."

Elena had no idea what to say. She couldn't follow anything Damon was saying. So, instead of asking more questions, Elena just took Damon's hand. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, making her smile like she was a little kid on Halloween, stuffing herself with candy.

For a long time, they said nothing. Elena sat down in front of Damon and held his hand, hoping that he would get his senses together and tell her what the hell he was talking about. To be honest, there was a little part of Elena that was disappointed. She had expected her reunion with Damon to be amazing and heartfelt. She'd wanted him to take her into his arms, tell her that everything was going to be alright now that they had found each other. Instead, she gets a pretty much catatonic Damon, muttering things that make zero sense.

There was another reason Elena wanted Damon to snap out of it. She wanted to know what was going on with Stefan and Katherine. She knew there had to be a lot of backstory to that situation. Stefan genuinely hated Katherine, so she would have had to do something really amazing to get him to even date her again. And poor Damon. He had spent a hundred and fifty years loving Katherine, but always getting second place to Stefan. How did this keep happening to him? Suddenly, Elena felt guilty because she had done the same exact thing to him, and he definitely didn't deserve it.

Finally, Elena couldn't take the silence any longer. "Damon? Damon, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Slowly, Damon looked up and into Elena's eyes. It was then that Damon finally focused on what he was seeing. "Your eyes…"

"What about them?" Elena asked. She definitely hadn't expected him to go on about her eyes.

Damon reached out and put his hand to the side of her face, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone just as he had done the night she died and then started the transformation. "In my dreams, my mind usually can't get the exact right color of your eyes. It's the only thing that reminds me that you aren't really here with me. That you're gone." Elena started to pull away, trying to figure out what he was saying, when Damon gasped, "No! No, Elena, please don't go away. This is the first time I've felt like you were actually here…"

The tears in Elena's eyes formed again, spilling over onto her cheeks and down Damon's hand.

"Oh, please don't cry, Elena. Don't be sad. Look, I'm alive! I did what you asked. I could have easily went into the sun the day they found your body, but I didn't because I know that that's not what you would've wanted." he whispered, caressing Elena's face with both hands now and wiping away the tears.

Even though Elena couldn't really control her tears, she gained enough composure to try and figure out what was going on. "Damon, you aren't making any sense. Look at me! I'm right here! What were you talking about when you said they found my body? I'm not dead. I'm alive."

At this, Damon looked down, but Elena could still see the tears running down his face. "I wish that was true. Any moment now, I'll wake up and remember that you aren't here anymore. And the hurt and guilt will run through me again."

"Guilt?"

Damon nodded. "I shouldn't have just let you run off after Stefan came in. No, that's not right. I never should've kissed you and made things so difficult for you. But it's too late to realize any of those things. You're gone, and there's nothing I can do about that."

Elena took a deep breath, trying to think of how she could get him to tell her what happened. Obviously telling him that she was alive and well wasn't getting her anywhere. "What happened when I ran off three years ago?"

At this, Damon gained a little composure. He looked a little more like himself. "Stefan and I got into an argument, instead of running after you like we should have. He said that everything that had happened was my fault. I tried to tell him that I had never meant for any of that to happen, but he wouldn't listen to me. He shoved me pretty hard into a bookcase and then left.

"After he left, I called your cell phone, but you must have left it at your house because Alaric picked up. He was also furious with me. I hung up on him and called Caroline, hoping that you had gone to her. She told me she hadn't seen you since you left her house earlier that day, and that she hadn't heard from you either. Matt and Bonnie were with her, so they didn't know anything. I assumed that Stefan had gone out looking for you, and I didn't want to interfere and have you both mad at me, so I went across the state, taking some time off to be by myself."

He looked away from Elena then, over to the picture on the nightstand. "I went to Bree's bar for a little while, maybe two weeks or so. I stayed in the room they have above the bar that they rented out. Bree wasn't there anymore, of course. When I came back, Stefan and the others had posted pictures of you all over town. Sherriff Forbes and her squad were doing everything they could to find you."

Elena felt horrible at hearing this. Yes, she had wanted to escape to somewhere no one would find her, but the least she could have done was leave a letter in her room explaining that she needed to be alone. Then they wouldn't have been so worried about her. But she didn't have time to say any of this because Damon was still explaining.

"Another two weeks went by and we still hadn't found any sign of you. Then, one day, they found a body in a well two towns over. They announced that it was you. The body had been broken and damaged from the fall, and the water didn't make it any easier to really tell that it was you. There was a closed casket funeral, but I didn't go. I couldn't handle it. I felt so horrible." Tears fell down Damon's face again, and Elena wiped them away. He visibly shook at her touch.

"I left town, but Stefan stayed. When I came back - about a year later - he and Katherine were together. Apparently, she had heard that you died and showed up in Mystic Falls a month after I left. Katherine was moved into the boardinghouse. I guess Stefan had decided that since he couldn't have you, he would settle for Katherine. But then, as time went on, I realized that the two really were in love. Maybe if I hadn't interfered back in 1864, Stefan and Katherine could have moved on, and we never would have come into your life, ultimately killing you.

"I wasn't happy anymore without you, but I made sure to keep up an act for everyone else. I guess you could say that I was trying to move on with my life, but it wasn't working very well. Klaus and Caroline started a relationship because Tyler told Caroline that he could never be with her. What Caroline didn't know - and still doesn't know - is that Klaus threatened to kill Caroline if Tyler kept going after her. The whole, 'if I can't have her, no one can' act.

"They got married a while ago, mostly because Klaus compelled her. But she seemed pretty happy and still is. Then, Stefan and Katherine got engaged. There weren't a lot of people at the wedding, mostly vampires. Alaric had left town to move to whatever town Jeremy was in because you were gone. Bonnie and Matt were in college, so they weren't able to come. It was just me, Klaus, Rebecka, Caroline, and a couple of other vampires who were friends with Klaus.

"I came here after Caroline and Klaus's wedding, and decided that I liked the place. I bought this house, but I haven't stayed here much. That is, up until two weeks ago. Katherine and Stefan came through here on their honeymoon, too, and I decided to come just to stay here. When I went back, it was to grab most of my things. Stefan and Katherine had wanted me out of the house because they wanted to make it their married house.

"They come visit every now and then, but it isn't often, and most of the time it's only Stefan, making sure that I'm not trying to kill myself. He's the only one who knows how truly miserable I am. After all, everyone got their fairytale ending except for me…and you, of course. So, I went cross-country for a while and then came back here two weeks ago. This is my official place." he ended.

There was no possible way that Elena could process all of this at that moment. It was all just too much. A part of her wanted to go back to Mystic Falls - in disguise, of course - and try to beat some sense into Stefan. But there was another part of her that never, ever wanted to leave Damon's side again. So, instead of asking more questions, Elena decided that she would just put everything off to the side to think about later, and be with Damon instead.

"Come on." Elena said, pulling Damon up off the ground by his arm. She didn't have to try, though. As soon as she'd told him to come, he got up off the ground and followed her to his bed. She sat down on the bed, but when she tried to lay down, Damon protested.

"No! We can't lay down. If we do, I'll wind up getting comfortable and then waking up. And then you'll be gone again." he shrieked.

Elena patted the spot beside her and whispered, "Damon, I'm not leaving. I promise."

Damon simply nodded, still looking like a catatonic mental patient. He honestly didn't believe that any of this was real. He pulled off his shoes and slid into the bed, telling Elena to take off her shoes as well. She thought that was odd since he thought this was a dream, but she didn't protest. As soon as her shoes were off, Elena laid back and was going to put her head on Damon's shoulder when just the opposite happened. Damon wrapped his arm around her waist and settled his head down on her chest.

Elena wrapped her left arm around Damon's back and stoked his hair with her right hand. They laid there in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Elena vaguely wondered about what Damon would think when he woke up in the morning and Elena was still there, but she didn't put too much thought into it. She knew that he would be ecstatic.

"Elena?" Damon shrieked, popping up.

"I'm still here, Damon. Calm down." she replied, pushing hair out of his face.

Damon ran a hand down Elena's arm, as if needing to feel her to believe she was still there. "Oh, okay." He laid his head back down on her chest. They were silent for a little while longer when Damon said, "Elena, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah." she replied.

Damon didn't reply for a long time. In fact, he'd been silent so long that Elena thought he'd gone to sleep. When he finally spoke, it scared her. "Do you visit me from the afterlife in my dreams?"

Elena didn't quite know how to answer that. She didn't want to say yes because she didn't want Damon to think that she really was dead, but she didn't want to say no either because she didn't want to disappoint him. On an impulse, she decided what she would tell him. "No."

"So, you're just here from my mind?"

"No."

"Then how are you here?"

"I already told you, silly. I'm alive. And I'm really here with you. You aren't dreaming." Elena laughed. She felt Damon's head shaking.

"We'll see." he whispered, snuggling into her even more. They fell silent yet again, and this time Elena closed her eyes, deciding she should sleep. She found it easier to relax with Damon here because she actually felt safe. It was the first time since she'd left home that she felt like this. Just when she was starting to drift off, Damon said, "Elena?"

"Mmm?" Elena replied, not wanting to talk and wind up not being able to sleep.

"Please don't leave me again."

Elena's heart broke at the sound of his voice. He was so desperate to have her here with him. Maybe she had been wrong the entire time she was in Mystic Falls. Maybe Damon was the one who was really in love with her, not Stefan. After all, Stefan was already married to someone else and Damon was the one who was roaming around, miserable that Elena had "died". If someone was truly in love with someone else, they wouldn't be able to move on that easily, would they? Especially if they were a vampire. "Leave you? Never."

Elena held on to Damon tighter right before she fell asleep.

When Elena woke up, Damon was no longer clinging to her. He was still facing her on his side, but his arms were tucked in close to his chest. It looked as if Damon had decided to pull his hands off of her before he went to sleep. Maybe he thought that if he woke up and his hands were still out to his side like he was clutching someone, but not clutching anyone, it would make waking up to no Elena even worse.

Looking outside the window, Elena saw that the sun had already come out and was about to stream through the window. She instinctively thought that she should get out of the bed and under it, but then remembered that she now had a ring that would protect her from the sun.

She stroked Damon's hair, mumbling sweet words for him to wake up. He moved a little, his lips moving as if he was speaking in his dream, but didn't wake. Finally, Elena gave him a little shake, causing his eyes to pop open. He took one long look at Elena and said, "Well, that's weird."

"What?" Elena asked, wondering if she had dried drool on her face, or if her hair was sticking up in weird angles. She'd thought that she would at least not have to worry about dried drool anymore once she'd turned into a vampire, but she learned throughout the years that it pretty much got worse. She'd wake up about three days out of the week with dried drool on her face, mostly because she had been dreaming about blood.

Damon sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He stretched before looking back at Elena and saying, "I usually don't have dreams where I go to sleep and then wake back up… I could get used to this."

Elena felt her heart fall into her stomach at his words. She had thought that when they woke up this morning, Damon would realize that he hadn't been dreaming and that Elena was really here. She had a horrible thought that Damon might have gone completely nuts after she left, thinking she was dead, and that she might not ever get him to realize that she was really here.

Frustration boiling through her blood, Elena snorted. It wasn't the kind of snort she accidently let out when she thought something was funny but shouldn't laugh. No, it sounded more like she'd just seen her boyfriend kiss another girl in front of her and she let out an involuntary noise. "What is it going to take to get you to realize that _I'm here_. I'm alive, Damon!"

Giving her one of his famous smirks, Damon retorted, "Wow. Usually you aren't all grumpy in my dreams. And lying doesn't suit you, sweet."

Elena was seriously about to reach out and strangle him, but then a thought occurred to her. Damon probably though that Elena had died because she chose not to drink from a human and not go through the transformation. So if Elena were to do something only a vampire could do, he would have to believe that she was alive.

Without saying a word, Elena got up off the bed and ran across the room, going as fast as she could. Damon definitely wasn't expecting it because he was still facing the direction Elena had been, his back now to her.

Elena saw Damon's entire body stiffen, could practically see the thoughts going through his head. She knew that at any moment now, Damon would turn around and realize that she wasn't dead, that she was actually a vampire. Just as Elena had predicted, Damon turned and looked her right in the eyes. Then he said something that completely surprised her.

"Your eyes…"

"What? Damon, we've already gone through this. My eyes look exactly like they did before." she answered, wondering if she really should strangle him.

"No. Your eyes, the weird way you were acting last night, the way you were here when I woke up… But…it couldn't be." He looked at the ground. Elena was silently hoping that he was on the right track. She thought he was, but with his weird behavior lately, she couldn't be too sure. Finally, Damon looked up into Elena's eyes again. "Elena?"

Elena smiled and said, "Finally."

Damon was at Elena's side so fast her own vampiric vision couldn't see him. His mouth was suddenly on hers. This kiss was a lot different than the ones she'd had before. There was a bit of sweetness in it, but it was mostly desperation and happiness. It was like Damon couldn't even control himself. But what Elena found strange was that she was kissing him back the exact same way. She was desperate for his touch, so happy that she had finally made him realize she was here. But her own sweetness was mixed with his, making it seem like they were telling each other over and over again that they loved the other, all without ever saying a word.

"How could you do that to me?" Damon said, pulling away from Elena for only a moment before planting another kiss on her. It went on like that for a couple of minutes. "Why did you go without saying anything?" Kiss. "Don't you ever do something like that again." Kiss. "I love you so much." Kiss.

Finally, Elena broke away from him, feeling as if her heart might fly right out of her chest, she was so happy. They weren't kissing, but neither of them stopped touching the other for even a moment. Hands were touching faces, hair, arms, and shoulders. Elena ran her hands along Damon's chest right before he pulled her in for a huge hug.

Then, as quickly as Damon had become so happy, he turned angry. He pulled away from her, eyes boring into her own. "I mean it, Elena. Don't you ever do something like that to me again. Do you have any idea what hell I've been through? I thought… I thought…" Damon's face fell then, all his features conveying sadness. He pulled Elena into his arms again, clutching her for dear life. She could feel the rocking of his body as he fought back sobs.

"Damon?" Elena asked. "Damon, I have to tell you something."

She heard Damon take a breath, trying to control his voice. "What?" It was weird to hear that Damon actually sounded scared. Elena had known Damon for a long time and heard many things in his voice before, but he rarely sounded scared. Maybe he thought she was going to tell him that she couldn't stay with him. Maybe he thought that she had already gone to see Stefan and that he left Katherine for Elena, and Elena was only here to tell Damon that she wasn't dead. Maybe he thought that she didn't love him back. But she was about to make all his doubts disappear.

She doubted what she was about to say for only a moment. What if she only thought she felt something for Damon? What if this reunion made her mistake happiness for love? But there was something inside of her telling her that she had to say it. It told her that, even if it wasn't true, she would have to say the words in order to decide.

"I love you, too." she whispered.

Elena heard Damon's sharp intake of breath, surprised at what she had just said. She knew then that he _had _been worried that she was going to tell him something horrible, although she had no idea just what horrible thing he had been thinking. But that wasn't what surprised Elena.

Throughout everything she and Damon had been through, Elena knew that she had some feelings for him. She had always tried to deny it because she knew that she loved Stefan, but she always knew deep down that she had feelings for Damon, too. She hadn't wanted to admit it because she knew that it would only cause problems for all of them. But there was no way that she could deny it anymore. It wasn't just feelings that she had for Damon. She was genuinely in love with him. As soon as she'd said the words, she knew it was true. She loved him, and not just the kind of love you shared with a sibling or parents. No, this was real love.

But that wasn't what surprised Elena, either. In fact, she hadn't even thought about this possibility before she'd uttered the words to Damon. She felt another layer of guilt coat her heart as she realized that she had never really been in love with Stefan. Elena had had plenty of boyfriends before Stefan came along, but she had never been in love with any of them. She thought she'd liked them well enough, but she wasn't in love with them. When Stefan came along, she felt something that she had never felt with any of the other guys before, so she assumed that it was love. She always wanted to be with Stefan, unlike the other guys.

But it wasn't love that Elena had felt with Stefan. She was surprised to find out that she had mistaken what she had with Stefan for love, because now that she knew what real love was, it was obvious that she hadn't been in love with Stefan. Elena hadn't really had any real interest in the boys who came along before Stefan. She'd just gone out with them because she thought that she was old enough to start dating. She thought that that was what everyone did: got offers to go out and accepted them, hoping that they would start to feel something for that person.

But that wasn't true. When Stefan came to town, Elena really had an interest in him. He was the only guy she had ever wished would ask her out. Then, when things started getting serious, she thought she loved Stefan. Instead of just liking him, Elena felt more for him, so she assumed that it was love. In reality, Stefan was just one of those boyfriends that you can see yourself with, but aren't really in love with.

Now, in Damon's arms, Elena knew what real love felt like. It felt like, at any minute, your heart would burst from being so happy. You would do anything for the other person, even take a bullet - or, in Damon and Elena's case, a stake. It didn't matter if everyone else fell off the face of the earth, just as long as you had the other person with you. Elena realized, in that moment, that she would never, ever leave Damon again. She wouldn't be able to take it. Her heart would probably actually break from heartbreak if she was ever separated from him.

And all it took was her uttering those three little words to him for her to realize it.

"Oh, Elena…" Damon whispered, pulling her back and kissing her.

Elena felt every part of her body heating up. She hadn't had physical contact with anyone for so long, other than Candy, and even then she'd only gotten a hug. Elena's body felt starved for affection, desperately needing Damon's touch. She could tell that Damon's body was telling him the same when he ripped his shirt off. Literally. He grabbed both of the sleeves and ripped his shirt in half, which only made Elena want him more.

They moved across the room together, ripping off each other's clothes as they went. Just as they made it to the bed, Damon tore off Elena's panties, the last piece of clothing she wore. Elena could barely wait for Damon to come to her, so she was confused when he just stopped and stared at her. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, Damon spoke.

"You are so beautiful." he whispered. And with that, Elena truly made love for the first time.

**[THREE HOURS LATER]**

Elena thought that when you made love, you went slow, but she was wrong. It had only taken both Damon and Elena about half an hour to finish, but, even going so fast, Elena had felt love in every moment they made. When they were done, they'd curled up together, naked, and fallen asleep, muttering I love yous.

She'd been up for about half an hour, watching Damon sleep. Even now, Elena felt so much love for him, she didn't think she'd be able to take it. She knew that if she stayed another minute, she would wind up waking him up for round two, and she didn't want to disturb his sleep. He just looked too peaceful.

She got up, going through Damon's drawers and finding a big t-shirt and some boxers to put on, before going downstairs to the kitchen. Her throat was dry from the lack of blood in her system - she hadn't fed for three days - so she decided she would get some water. Opening the fridge, and hoping that Damon would have bottled water so that she wouldn't have to drink from the tap(she'd run the water in her home and saw that it was a lot dirtier than most water with her vampire vision), she was surprised to find that Damon had his own supply of blood.

Elena grabbed a pack and ripped it open with her teeth before draining the entire thing. Wanting more, she did the exact same thing with a second pack. She still wanted more, but decided that it would be rude to take more than she needed. Elena closed the door to the fridge before she was tempted to take any more.

Just as Elena started padding her way back to the stairs, she heard a short rap on the front door. She found that strange since Candy had said that no one goes up to Damon's door. Just as the thought went through her mind, she wondered if it could be Candy. After all, the girl _had _said that she liked Elena and wanted to see her again. Maybe she had gone by Elena's place and, after no one answered, thought that she was here. It's what Elena would've thought if she were in Candy's shoes.

She had just made it to the front of the stairs - going toward the front door - when it started to open. Elena was just about to tell whoever it was to stop and say who they were, when they spoke, and Elena realized that she wouldn't have to ask. She'd know that voice anywhere.

"Damon? I was in the neighborhood and I - " Stefan's words cut off when he caught sight of Elena. She realized how weird it must look to him, her standing there in Damon's boxers and shirt. But then she remembered that it must look really weird because he thought Elena was dead.

"Uh, Stefan. Hey." Elena mumbled, not really knowing the protocol for a meeting like this. She was just about to say something along the lines of, "Surprise! I'm not dead," when Stefan ran toward her, grabbed her shoulders, and rammed her against the wall.

Elena's head hit the wall hard, causing her to see stars for a moment. "Katherine, how _could _you?"

Okay, so, even though Elena was over Stefan and knew that she didn't really love him, that didn't mean that what he said didn't piss her off. How dare he mistake her for Katherine! Sure, they looked exactly alike, but once you got to know the both of them, you could tell who was who. Yeah, Stefan thought that Elena was dead, so the only logical explanation was that his wife was in Damon's house, looking like she'd just slept with Damon. Which _Elena _had just done.

She grabbed Stefan's shoulders in her own hands and flung him backward into the staircase. "I _am not _Katherine!"

Even though Elena was screaming, she was also bracing herself for Stefan's attack. But it never came. Paying attention to what she was seeing now, Elena saw that Stefan's eyes had widened and his mouth had opened. Good. She'd gotten through to him.

"Elena?" Stefan whispered.

Before Elena could tell him it really was her, Stefan flew at her as fast as he could, managing to pin her to the wall before she could do anything. She squeezed her eyes tight as she waited for the pain that would result from his blow.

But instead of hitting her, he kissed her.

**Duh duh duh! Lol. Let me know what you guys think! I really love hearing what you have to say about the story. It's your reviews that let me know if I am on the right track or not, so if you aren't liking the story for some reason, let me know! I would love to hear things you think I can improve on. Also, I wanted to ask you guys a question: what do you think should be the name of the town that Elena and Damon live in now? I've been trying to think of one, but I suck at making cool town names. Lol. I will give credit to whoever comes up with the best answer =]**


	6. No Choice

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! It's your comments that let me know if I'm going in the right direction with the story. A special thanks to Delenaluver for the awesome name of the town Elena and Damon live in. Not only were you the only one to come up with a name, but it is so perfect I probably would've gone with it anyway. I hope that you guys are up for some Delena because there is LOTS in this chapter =] I wanted to do a chapter dedicated just to the two of them without - almost - any distractions. Enjoy!**

"What in the hell are you doing?" Elena shrieked, throwing Stefan back against the staircase for the second time. It was at this moment that Damon ran down the stairs, wearing nothing but boxers. As he ran down, he looked concerned, probably because he'd heard Elena scream. But then, as he caught sight of Stefan, he just put on his famous smirk.

"What did you do, little brother?" Damon asked, closing the front door that had been left open when Stefan had seen Elena.

Stefan never looked away from Elena as he said, "Why didn't you tell me she was alive? Did you just imagine that you could keep her from me, that way you can have her all to yourself?"

Damon stood in the doorway to the living room now. "I just found out this morning. And I don't have to hide her to keep her to myself."

Stefan had finally looked at Damon as he talked, but when Damon explained that he didn't have to hide Elena, Stefan looked straight at Elena. She could tell by the look on his face that he wanted some confirmation. Elena spoke calmly and clearly, making sure that Stefan didn't misunderstand anything she said. "It's true. And why do you care, anyway? You have Katherine now."

For a moment, Elena thought that Stefan would attack Damon, but he didn't. Instead, he stopped leaning on the staircase and straightened himself out. "You're right. I'm sorry." Elena felt a little pang of jealousy, still thinking that Stefan would cause some sort of argument over Elena like before. But it was gone just as quickly as it had come. It was then that she also noticed that she was always more disappointed when Damon wouldn't fight for her than she was when Stefan wouldn't.

"So, come to check up on me?" Damon asked.

Stefan didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned around and tried fixing one of the pegs in the side of the staircase that had fallen out when Elena through Stefan into it. "Not this time." he said, still messing with the peg. "I came to invite you to a party."

"A party? For what?" Damon walked over to Elena and put his arm around her waist. Elena had been anxious; all shaken up from the confrontation with Stefan. But as soon as Damon's arm rested on her hips, she felt all the tension drain from her muscles, and a small smile form on her lips.

Stefan turned around, automatically seeing Damon's arm around Elena and frowning. Now that was something, Elena thought. Stefan was supposed to be madly in love with Katherine, yet he still seemed to have feelings for Elena. Maybe that was just something that happened with exes that you had a serious relationship with. "Katherine and I are throwing a party at the boardinghouse. We just got everything redecorated and it's ready to live in now. Of course, the offer is extended to Elena, now that I know she's alive."

"I don't think I can go, Stefan." Elena told him. When both Stefan and Damon gave Elena funny looks, she explained, "Well, everyone in Mystic Falls thinks that I'm dead. It would be a little weird for a dead girl to show up in town, don't you think. But, Damon, you can still go. I don't mind." Actually, she did mind. It wasn't so much that Elena was worried about what he would do while he was gone as much as it was the fact that Elena didn't want to be separated from him so soon after they'd reunited. But she wouldn't say that out loud, not in front of Stefan.

"Elena," Damon started, "you actually _can _go. I thought you were dead, too, until you showed up here. We could just tell everyone the truth: that you ran away from home because you were so stressed about going to college and the changes that would be taking place in your life, but when you got to…whatever city you like, you couldn't leave. The girl they found that they thought was you, wasn't."

Elena was going to argue that there would be a lot of holes in that story when Stefan spoke up. "Yeah. Even if people ask what you've been up to and how you were making money, you could just tell them that you don't want to talk about it. It's none of their business, after all."

There was a long silence after that, and Elena didn't realize that they were being silent because they had been waiting for an answer from her. When she finally decided she needed to tell them something, she just nodded her head, indicating that she would go. She decided this mostly because she didn't want to have Damon and Stefan spending more time convincing her to go. That would only make Stefan stay longer, and she definitely didn't want that.

Stefan then asked Damon to join him in the living room to speak alone, brother to brother. Elena knew that the only reason he was doing this was because he wanted to know how Elena was alive and how she was here, but she didn't protest when they left. Instead, Elena climbed the stairs and went into the master bathroom to take a shower. Damon didn't have any girl shampoos - which Elena took as a good sign that he hadn't had any women staying with him for a long period of time - so she just chose the guy shampoo with the best scent. She still smelt like a guy afterwards, though.

She then used the door to the bedroom to go in and find her clothes, remembering only when she picked them up that Damon had ripped them off her body. Thinking about what they had done sent shivers through Elena, but they weren't the bad variety. No, thinking about it made Elena want to do it all over again. She'd never shared anything like that with anyone before, making her realize once again that Damon was the right one for her.

Elena just had time to sit on the bed with a towel wrapped around her when Damon came in.

"He's _finally _gone." Damon whispered, moving with lightening-speed to Elena's side on the bed. He gingerly kissed her cheek, grabbing the top of the towel as he did.

Elena laughed, loving the fact that she was with someone she truly loved for the first time in a really, _really _long time. "Damon Salvatore, are you trying to seduce me?" she flirted.

A deep, rough sound came from Damon's throat before he said, "Is it working?" In answer, Elena slightly tore the top of his boxers, giving a little giggle as she did. Damon looked down to observe the tear, looking shocked that Elena had done something so daring. "Hey, careful now. You're seriously diminishing my wardrobe."

Elena let out another laugh at this, just before Damon kissed her again. They laid down together, never breaking away from each other. This time, Elena allowed Damon to take off his boxers as she took off the towel she had on. Unlike the last time, they took their time exploring each other's bodies, making sure to examine each and every inch of the other.

Just before they started to make love to each other, Elena whispered, "I love you, Damon."

Damon closed his eyes at hearing her say it, obviously ecstatic. "You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that." And with that, Elena and Damon made love for the second time, feeling even more for each other than ever.

**[LATER THAT NIGHT]**

"It looks like you've had some wild escapades since we last saw each other." Candy said with a smirk, taking in Elena's wardrobe. She was wearing one of Damon's shirts and pair of boxers again. There was no one else around, so Elena didn't mind being in her front yard looking like this. Candy slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide, before saying, "Oh my God. I'm sorry! It just slipped out."

Elena let out a laugh. "It's okay, Candy. We're friends, remember?" she told her, walking to her front door and opening it. "Now come in before someone sees you here and reports back to your mom." Candy scurried in after Elena, shutting the door behind her.

Elena had come back home for only a little while to grab some clothes and other accessories. Damon had wanted to come with her, but, even though Elena would've loved for him to come with her, she knew that she had to establish the fact that she didn't need him around for everything. Just because she was in love didn't mean that Elena was going to turn into one of those needy girls who always needed her boyfriend around.

As they walked up the stairs, Candy asked Elena about what she'd been up to because she had come by earlier and Elena hadn't been there. Elena explained to her everything that had happened after Candy left the day before. Even though it was strange to be telling these kinds of things to an almost-stranger, Elena didn't feel weird at all telling Candy personal things about her. Maybe it was because Candy kind of reminded her of Bonnie.

"Wow. So how do you know Damon?" Candy asked when Elena was finished.

Elena put the rest of her belongings in her duffel bag as she replied, "I knew him when I was a human. It was kind of complicated, actually. I was dating his brother."

Candy did a little bounce on Elena's bed, loving the juicy gossip. "No way! How did that work out?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but I look exactly like a vampire they met in 1864, the same vampire that they both fell in love with and turned them. Stefan saw me first and we started dating when Damon came into town and tried to get me to dump Stefan for him."

"So it worked?"

Elena didn't really like talking about her past, even when she was a human. But she decided that it was better to get things out in the open with Candy. One day Elena might need a witch, and if Candy trusted her, she would probably help her. But, then again, if she went back to Mystic Falls and Bonnie was there, she could always just ask her. "Um, kind of. I did feel something for Damon, but I felt something for Stefan, too. I'm not really the type who breaks up with someone for someone else. Then, Damon really confessed his love to me, and I felt something for him just before this accident happened and I got turned.

"I ran away and never looked back. That was three years ago. It wasn't until now, when I saw Damon again after you told me he lived here, that I realized that I really love him and want to be with him. I actually haven't even thought of Stefan since we've been together. That is, until he showed up earlier."

Candy had started looking around Elena's bedroom at some of the knick-knacks she'd picked up since she turned. Now, she turned around and ran to Elena's side. "Man, your life is like a soap opera. What happened with that?"

So, Elena explained what happened with Stefan, finally satisfying Candy.

"Are you going to the party?" Candy asked.

"Yeah." Elena sighed. She honestly didn't want to - she would much rather stay here and cuddle with Damon. But Damon did want to go and Elena didn't want to be away from him. "I gotta run, Candy. Damon is waiting for me and if I take too long he might come looking for me."

Elena walked down the stairs with Candy following her. She opened the front door and started walking, but ran smack into Damon. The human Elena - the one who hadn't realized how she felt about Damon - one have been mad at Damon for sneaking up to her front door and making her run into him. But this Elena smiled, automatically dropping her bag and wrapping her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here? How did you even know where my house was?" she whispered into Damon's neck.

He rubbed a hand down her back, kissing the top of her head as he did so. "It wasn't hard. This house hasn't been occupied since I got here and suddenly the lawn looks good. As for why I'm here, I missed you."

Elena pulled away from him and looked up into his face. "Since when did you become so sappy?" she laughed.

"Oh, I've always been sappy, Elena." he replied, pushing some of Elena's hair behind her ear. "You just never gave me the chance to be. Who's this?" Elena followed his gaze to Candy.

Candy's cheeks blushed, obviously affected by Damon's good looks. "I-I'm Candy. It's nice to meet you."

Damon observed her for a moment and then turned back to Elena. "Why is there a witch in your house?"

"Damon!" Elena scolded, lightly smacking his arm. "Be nice."

"I'm not nice. You know that already."

"You're nice to me." Elena purred, hoping Damon would come around.

He gave her a smile as he said, "That's because I love you."

Elena smile turned from flirty to soft as she stared into Damon's eyes. Even just looking at him made Elena get a warm feeling in her chest. This wasn't the same feeling she got before they made love. No, this was the feeling she got that was… Well, she couldn't explain it with words. It was like she was melting but freezing at the same time. Like every muscle in her body was relaxing while her blood pumped harder. The only thing she could call it was…love.

A throat clearing behind Elena made her snap out of it. "I'll, uh, just be on my way. It was nice to meet you, Damon. Bye, Elena." Candy said as she darted around Damon and walked down the porch steps.

Damon started to roll his eyes, but Elena gave him a hard look, telling him to be nice with her eyes. He sighed as he turned around and said, "Nice meeting you, Candy."

Candy turned and waved at his words and Elena returned the wave. "See," she told Damon, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Damon brought a hand to his heart, the same way he'd done it the night Elena died. "Oh, Elena… I've got this warm feeling inside me. Thank you for allowing me to see the light. From now on, I'll be the nicest person you know! This is the best thing to ever happen to me!"

Resisting the urge to smack him again, Elena decided to play with him instead of telling him to shut up. "Really? That's wonderful, Damon!" she replied in a way too high tone of voice.

"No." Damon said, but instead of saying it harshly - like he used to when Elena was a human - he was soft-spoken. "The best thing to ever happen to me was you." If Elena were still a human, she would've blushed at his comment. Instead, she got up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Now, come with me."

"Where are we going?" Elena asked.

"It's time I take you on a date." Elena didn't even see Damon grab her bag, but suddenly both he and the bag were gone. She looked into the yard, wondering if he was playing with her, but didn't see him anywhere. Maybe he was talking to the bag, Elena thought, making herself laugh. "What's so funny?"

Elena jumped at Damon's voice. He was a lot faster than she was because he was a lot older, so she hadn't even seen him coming. Suddenly, Elena laughed at another thought she had, and decided to tell him that thought instead of the one about the bag. "I was just thinking that you're a pervert."

"Who, me? Ms. Gilbert, I've only taken advantage of you twice." he laughed.

"Oh, only twice…" Elena replied, taking his hand and walking down the porch. "I wasn't meaning that. I mean that you're, like, a hundred and sixty, and I'm only twenty-one. Eighteen, if you count how old I was when I was turned."

Damon twirled Elena around in a circle once they'd met the ground, smiling. "Actually, I'm a hundred and seventy-five. If you want to talk about how old I was when I was turned, I was twenty-four. It's not that bad of an age difference."

Elena laughed, long and hard. It took her a couple of minutes to catch her breath before saying, "Oh, that's not much of an age difference, huh? You're, what, a hundred and fifty-two years older than I am? Nope, not bad at all."

"I was talking about you being eighteen and me being twenty-four. It's only five years. Besides, we're _vampires_, Elena. The rules are different with us." he explained.

Once Damon was done twirling Elena, she took off toward the street, stopping on the sidewalk. "Come catch me." she whispered, knowing he would hear. She sped down the street, just making it to the dead end when Damon caught her around the waist. "You got me." she breathed.

"Don't I get a reward?" Damon whispered seductively, making Elena shiver. She turned, meeting Damon's lips. The kiss was hot and passionate, making Elena's entire body tingle with desire. A thought occurred to Elena as they kissed: what if someone was out here and happened to see them making out in the middle of the street? Just as she was about to break away and voice her thought, Damon pulled back and said, "My turn."

He was gone before Elena could reply, stopping two houses down from her house. She sped after him, but, again, he was much faster than her. He would run away and stop so that Elena could see him, but as soon as she started chasing him again, he would take off. They went through the town, occasionally coming across people and having to dart into the shadows before they could see that Elena and Damon had just appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared again.

Damon took off into the woods on the edge of town, making it harder for Elena to spot and then go after him. After ten minutes of this game, Elena thought that he would never stop, and that they would just play this game forever. But, just as soon as the thought occurred to her, Damon reached out from some trees and grabbed her, knocking the wind out of her.

She turned as fast as she could in his arms and smacked him on the arm. When he asked her what that was for, she pointed at her chest before doubling over. No, a vampire didn't need oxygen to survive, but they did need air in order to speak. Damon grabbed Elena, pulled her upright, and then smacked her in the back, not enough to really hurt her, but enough to leave her back stinging. At first, she had no idea why he'd done it and was about to turn around and shove him into a tree, but then she felt the air go into her lungs and realized that he had just been trying to help her.

"Damon!" she shrieked. "Don't do that again. It kind of hurt."

He gave a little chuckle, but when Elena gave him a dirty look, he shut up. "I'm sorry, sweet. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just meant to surprise you."

"Surprise me? You want to know a _good _way to surprise me? Get me flowers. Take me to a movie on an impulse. Get me jewelry just to get it for me. Don't knock me silly." she replied, frustrated. She wasn't really mad at Damon. In fact, Elena didn't think she could ever get mad at him again. Even though she was a little upset at having the air knocked out of her, she still loved him with every cell in her body.

Damon laughed again, and Elena was about to yell at him some more before taking off, when he stopped and said, "That's what I was trying to do. Look." Damon stepped to the side, revealing a wonder that Elena had never dreamt someone would make for her.

There was a pond about fifty feet behind Damon, complete with cute little ducks and a couple of turtles. Rocks surrounded the pond, not normal, small rocks, but big rocks that you could sit on. There was only one part of the pond that didn't have rocks around it and it was just big enough for you and a couple of other people to sit down and dip your toes in the water. But that wasn't what was so amazing.

Sitting on the rock closest to the opening to the pond were two lit white candles, two wine glasses, and a wine bottle. There was also a picnic basket, but Elena had no idea what was in it. Sure, they could eat food, but usually it was only to keep up appearances. Elena had found out when she became a vampire that even though she still liked her old favorite foods, she preferred blood over them.

"Oh, Damon. It's beautiful." she whispered, leaning over and planting a kiss on his cheek.

He gave her a big smile that he only ever had on when he was around her. "See? You should've let me do this for you a long time ago. Right this way, my lady."

Damon offered Elena his hand and she took it happily. He walked a little ahead of her, straight to the rock. Elena took in everything as they walked. She had only ever seen two ponds in her life, and she had never dared to go into them. Ponds were different from the lakes they had in Mystic Falls, whose waters were almost clear. The two ponds she had seen were murky and you couldn't even see your toes once you'd dipped them in the water. Add to that the fact that people liked to dump things in ponds, and you had one seriously scared human Elena.

This pond was no different. Just by looking at it, you could tell that the water was stained with the mud that made up the bottom of it. But what made this pond so special-looking was the green moss that ringed it. Now that she was closer to the pond, she could see little fish and tadpoles swimming in the shallow water. It was evening, and the sun was on its way below the horizon, so you could see all the clouds reflected in the pond.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Elena, do you prefer warm animal blood, or warm-ish human blood?" Damon asked, pulling Elena's attention back to him. But she didn't mind looking away from the pond to look at Damon. In fact, she preferred looking at him. His good looks could keep her looking at him all the time.

"Yuck." Elena said, thinking about animal blood. The only kind of animal blood she would even consider drinking was deer or bear blood, but since you hardly ever encountered a bear out in the woods, she mostly stuck to deer in a pinch.

Before she could explain that she didn't really like animal blood, Damon laughed and said, "Elena, don't tell me that even as a vampire you can't stand the thought of drinking blood. I saw those bags of blood you emptied in the trash."

Again, if Elena could blush, she would have. "No, I like human blood. Love it, actually. But I don't really like animal blood."

"Well, that's a relief. You know I've never liked animal blood much myself. That was always Stefan's forte." Damon reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a couple bags of blood. "Would you like to eat and then drink, or drink and then eat?"

Elena pondered this for only a moment. When she was a human, she would have said eat and then drink - only real food instead of blood - because she knew that you should never drink and then eat. That would make you throw up. But after being a vampire for three years, she knew that if she drank and then ate, it would give the alcohol a little more effect. "Drink and then eat."

Damon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? Well, there's our first difference as vampires. I like to eat and then drink."

He poured himself a drink and Elena a glass of blood. They watched the sunset before they talked and enjoyed their different beverages for about an hour, telling each other stories about how they had lived the past three years. They talked about what places they'd been to, who they've met - Damon actually met Brad Pitt and had drunk a little from Angelina Jolie, but he didn't really like her taste - and how they preferred River Hollows - the town they now lived in - to Mystic Falls. Even though River Hollows had just as many ley lines as Mystic Falls did, it seemed that there wasn't as much supernatural activity.

Finally, when they had both drunk two glasses of wine and three glasses of blood, Damon pointed at the pond - which was behind Elena - and told her to look. When she did, she noticed that the pond's water was now reflecting the stars that had come out. It was so beautiful that Elena suggested going to dip their toes in the water, something she never would've done as a human.

Shoes and socks off, Damon and Elena walked hand-in-hand to the water. It was surprisingly cold compared to the warm night's air.

"Oh, look, we scared that turtle." Elena said, pointing to a turtle that was trying to climb a rock.

Damon laughed and sat down on a rock right next to where he was standing. "Have you noticed that we scare most animals that are aware of our presence? They sense we're dangerous. Especially cats and dogs, but they don't run away all the time. Occasionally, you'll get a tough dog that will try to chase you down the road, or a fearless cat that will try to claw your eyes out. I once ran into a pretty brave raccoon."

Elena walked the couple of feet to Damon's side and sat on the rock. "Oh, really? And how did that work out for you?"

"If I was still a human, I'd probably need a new pair of underwear."

They both laughed long and hard. When they finished laughing, they sat in silence. Elena threw her head back and looked at the stars, enjoying the water on her toes and the breeze running through her hair. She could hear Damon flicking his feet back and forth in the water as she picked out some constellations her mom and dad had shown her. Damon's kicks became slower and slower until he finally stopped kicking altogether.

"Elena?" he asked.

"Mmm?"

Damon was silent for a couple of beats, making Elena think that he wasn't going to say anything. She was enjoying herself so much she couldn't bring herself to care if they talked or just sat in silence together. But his next sentence shattered her peacefulness.

"If… If Stefan hadn't married Katherine, would you have still chosen me?"

Elena popped her head up to look at Damon, wondering what would cause him to ask such a question. Instead of just saying yes automatically, Elena actually thought about it.

During the three years that Elena had been gone, she'd thought about what would happen if she went back to Mystic Falls. In every scenario, she had pictured coming back to Stefan, but only because he was the one she had originally been with. But, apparently, her mind had another idea. Elena was plagued with dreams that she couldn't escape. Yes, for the two months before she'd found Damon she dreamt of him, pleading her to come back to him, but she had also had other dreams.

Those dreams were probably almost as bad, even though you wouldn't think they were. In them, she would go back to Mystic Falls, sneak into the boardinghouse in the middle of the night, and wake Damon up, not Stefan. They would either talk, cry and comfort each other, or make love. It was always worst when they made love because Elena would wake up crying, wishing very badly that the dream had been real. Usually, she couldn't make sense of it later, wondering why she had been crying when she woke up. But there were other times when she would admit to herself that she desperately wanted Damon with her, not Stefan. After a while, she remembered something that she was never meant to remember, and that was when she realized that, if she ever came into contact with the Salvatore brothers again, she would be with Damon.

Of course, she had thought she loved Stefan when she was a human, and it was partially true. She did love Stefan, but not the way he wanted her to. In fact, she knew she would always care about Stefan in a way, which was part of the reason why she didn't want to go to his housewarming party. It wasn't that she would be jealous of Katherine - how could she ever be jealous of that horrid girl? - but rather that she didn't want to flaunt the fact that she was with Damon in front of Stefan's face.

All of this went through Elena's mind in a matter of two seconds.

"Damon," she whispered, knowing exactly what she needed to say, but was interrupted by Damon.

"Just be straight with me. Please don't sugar-coat it for my benefit. I really want to know the truth, even if it will just hurt me."

Elena turned her entire body to face him and took his hand. She placed their clasped hands in her lap, looking directly into Damon's beautiful eyes. "A couple of months after I was turned, I had a dream."

Damon sighed and said, "Elena - "

"No, Damon! Let me finish." Elena took a deep breath. "Like I said, a couple of months after I was turned, I had a dream. At first, I didn't know what to think of it. It was a really strange dream because it felt so real. It was more like a memory than a dream. Let me tell you what happened in the dream.

"I was back in Mystic Falls, in my bathroom. I had just gotten ready for bed and went into my bedroom to go to sleep. You were there, but I didn't see you until you said, 'Cute PJs.' I told you that I was tired, but you got up and walked over to me, holding my vervain necklace in your hand. I told you that I'd thought it was gone and thanked you for it, but you pulled it just out of my grasp when I went for it. So, I said, 'Please give it back.'"

"And then I told you that I had to say something…" Damon pitched in.

Elena nodded and went on. "And I asked you why you had to say it with my necklace. You looked…so sad when you said, 'Well, because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life.' I told you not to go there, but - "

"I said that I just needed to say it to you once, and you just needed to hear it."

"Exactly." Elena gave him a small smile. "And then you told me that you loved me, but I already knew that. You said that because you loved me, you couldn't be selfish with me, which - I'm not going to lie - I never thought would ever happen. But then you told me that you didn't deserve me and that Stefan did, and that totally blew me away."

Damon gave Elena a sad smile, taking a deep breath before saying, "Then I kissed you on your forehead."

"To my surprise, you said, 'God, I wish you didn't have to forget this.'"

"You looked so confused when I said that."

"Then you said, 'But you do.' The next thing I knew, I was waking up, as confused as ever. For two entire days, I thought of nothing but that dream. I wondered why it felt like déjà vu, but not the kind that comes later. It felt like it had already happened to me, but I was dreaming about it, wondering when it had happened. Finally, I realized that it wasn't just a dream; it was a memory. A memory that you had compelled me to forget.

"Damon, I had been dreaming of you even before that dream. I almost never dreamt of Stefan, and when I did, he was never the star of the dream, more like a supporting character." Damon gave a small, choked laugh at this. "I couldn't see why I had been dreaming of you so much and not Stefan, but when I remembered what you'd done, every single trace of Stefan left my mind. I knew without a doubt that you really loved me, and that I really loved you.

"I thought about going back to Mystic Falls to you so many times, but I was always too scared of what would happen. Too scared that I would come back to find you with someone else. So, the answer to your question is no." Elena explained.

Damon cocked his head to the side, obviously confused. "Did you forget the question while explaining all of that? I asked if you still would've chosen me if Stefan had never married Katherine."

Elena smiled. "No, I didn't forget the question, and the answer is still no. I wouldn't have chosen you." Damon looked down, taking his hand away from Elena's, but she held on to it. "Damon, I wouldn't have chosen you because there was no choice." He looked up so fast, Elena didn't even see the movement. "There was only _you_."

Before Elena knew what was going on, they were in the water, Damon's lips on hers. Elena didn't even care that her clothes were getting wet, she was so engrossed in trying to make Damon feel all the love she had for him. They kissed for a few more minutes, but then they headed back to Damon's as they could.

They climbed into bed, this time in pajamas. They didn't need to make love tonight. All they needed was to be wrapped in each other's arms, knowing that they had all of eternity laid out before them.

** Sooo? What did you think? Was that enough Delena for you? Oh, no, wait. There can NEVER be enough Delena! Lol. Also, ayna93, it's like you read my mind! I had already written the part with Stefan and Elena before you wrote the review, and I was like, "Oh wow! They are so on my same brainwave." Lol. Again, thanks for the wonderful reviews and I hope to get some more! Get ready for more possibly tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the next day. I have just figured out a main point in the plot and can't wait to start writing it, so I'll probably be uploading chapters more and more. Thanks again!**


	7. The Party

**I've got a killer migraine and I'm super tired. But I managed to write another chapter. Here ya go.**

"So you remember everything I told you, right?" Elena asked, sitting in the passenger's seat of Damon's Mustang. He'd bought it right before he went cross-country, after Elena left. It was cherry red, with leather seats. You could change the color of the inside lights. But what Elena loved the most about it was the radio. It was a Sirius radio, so you almost never lost signal or got white noise.

Damon nodded, taking the key out of the ignition. "Don't leave your side unless you say I can, try to avoid Stefan and Katherine as much as possible, and if people start to bother you about where you've been, make up a story about needing to be somewhere and leave. I got it, Elena." Elena looked out the window at the boardinghouse, feeling so weird to be back home. Suddenly, Damon's hand was on Elena's left knee. "Hey. Everything is going to be fine. I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Elena gave him a small smile, feeling extremely grateful that he was here with her. They hopped out of the car and made their way around other cars parked in the front lawn to the front door. There were a couple of people outside, holding drinks and making small-talk, but all the conversation died when they spotted Elena. She recognized a few people: Mayor Lockwood - Tyler's mom - Sherriff Forbes, her eleventh grade English teacher…

Damon squeezed Elena's hand, feeling her stiffen at being in front of these people. He rang the doorbell and someone opened the door almost automatically. Stefan stood there with a smile on his face until he realized who was at the door.

"Damon, Elena, welcome back." he said, moving to the side to let them in.

Elena could hear light classical music playing in the background to everyone's conversations. There were a lot more people inside than there were outside. She vaguely thought that every car in the front had to have been packed for as many people to be there as there were.

"Elena, you look wonderful." Stefan said, walking up to her right side, the side Damon wasn't on. Elena had been wondering if she had gone too formal with her green and black strapless dress, but based on what everyone else was wearing - and what Stefan had just said - she now was comfortable with her decision. **[NOTE: GO TO /prom-dresses-raleigh-nc/prom-dresses-raleigh-nc-2 FOR ELENA'S DRESS]**

Elena had been looking to her left when Stefan said this and noticed the frown on Damon's face from Stefan's comment. She knew that Stefan hadn't really meant anything by his comment other than the fact that she had chosen a good dress, but Damon had obviously taken it as a pass at her. "Thank you, Stefan. Where's Katherine?" she asked, hoping to get the attention away from her.

Stefan pointed across the room at her. "She's over there, mingling with guests." Elena was disappointed to see that Katherine was wearing a black and red dress that went down to her knees. **[NOTE: GO TO . FOR KATHERINE'S DRESS]** It looked so much better on her than the green and black dress did on Elena. "Look, can we go upstairs? There's something I forgot to mention."

"Yeah, I didn't think about that until we got to the front door." Damon added, getting an odd look from Stefan.

"What are you guys talking about?" Elena asked, confused. In answer, Damon nodded his head toward the stairs.

All three of them made their way to the stairs. Elena noticed as they walked that Katherine had spotted them and was on her way to the stairs as well. There was sinking feeling in Elena's stomach. She didn't think this could end very well. Katherine wasn't a very nice person.

They went into the room closest to the stairs. Once inside, Elena imagined Stefan would close the door, but he left it open. Elena cocked her head to the side at him until Katherine walked in and she realized that he knew she was coming. Katherine walked right past all three of them after shutting the door.

"What is _she _doing here?" she asked, pointing at Elena.

Elena's mouth gaped open for a moment before regaining her composure. "Uh, I'm right here. You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here. And Stefan invited me." She crossed her arms across her chest for good measure.

Katherine didn't get snappy with Elena like she thought she would. Instead, she looked to Stefan and widened her eyes, clearly wondering why he invited Elena. "She was over at Damon's when I got there. I invited her, too. I didn't think it would be a big deal."

"So, you're telling us that you didn't tell Katherine that Elena was coming?" Damon asked.

"That's exactly what he's telling you." Katherine replied, obviously pissed. "So now we have a really big problem." She turned to Elena. "Everyone here thinks I'm you."

Needless to say, Elena was taken completely by surprise. So they hadn't explained that Katherine just _looked _like Elena? She suddenly remembered Damon saying that he hadn't remembered something until they got to the front door. "And you didn't tell me this, _why_?"

Damon gaped at Elena, obviously not knowing what to say to appease her. Before he could say anything, Stefan stepped in. "Look, we don't really have time for that right now. Some people already saw you, Elena. Right now, they're probably just thinking that Katherine - who they think is you - just changed dresses, but when they see the two of you down there at the same time…"

"Wait!" Elena said, thinking. "How is it even possible that they think she is me? Doesn't everyone here think I'm dead?"

Stefan sighed. "Well, they did. For about three months. But when Katherine showed up in town, everyone just assumed she was you and we figured it would be a lot easier to tell them that she was you instead of trying to explain that she just looks exactly like you. A lot of people were confused and didn't really believe that she was you. So, we went to Bonnie, asking her if she knew a spell that would help us. She said she did know a spell, but she wouldn't help us.

"So, Katherine got one of her witch friends… What was her name?"

"Haylie." Katherine answered.

Stefan nodded. "Right. Haylie. Well, she helped us. She did some sort of spell that temporarily took my and Katherine's ability to use compulsion. She used it to make a serum that we could spike into the drinks at the Founder's Day party to make everyone believe that she was you. Well, it worked. So now…"

"People are going to be more confused than ever." Katherine finished. "But I have an idea. Elena, you could say that you're my cousin. We could play you off as me - Katherine, that is - and say that you're not a direct family member. We'll say that you're a Gilbert from Europe, a member of the family who stayed behind when the rest moved to Mystic Falls."

"I've got a better idea." Elena said, surprising Katherine. "We tell everyone that you and I met each other at a tour of a school. We figured out that we were distant relatives from research on the internet. Obviously, we searched because we look exactly alike. I wanted to see what it was like on your side of the family, so we switched places. I liked it so much there that I stayed.

"Stefan and I broke up before I left and you and him fell in love, so you wanted to stay here, too. You guys make a speech later and say that you're really Katherine and I am the real Elena. Got it?"

Katherine didn't say anything for a minute, pondering over what Elena had just purposed. "No, I like my plan better. I don't want to come out and tell all these people that I've been lying this entire time."

"But you were lying!" Elena shrieked, wanting to rip Katherine's pretty little head off her shoulders. Damon crossed the couple of feet between he and Elena to grab her hand, but she pulled it away from him. "You don't get to hold my hand right now."

Damon looked hurt, but it didn't last long. Elena knew that if they had been alone, Damon would have shown his true emotions, but here - with Stefan and Katherine - there was no way he would let them know that he had vulnerabilities. "I think Elena is right. After all, she is the real Elena. She should be able to tell people so."

Katherine looked genuinely surprised. She must have thought that Damon would agree with her because he had been in love with her for so long. Elena felt a little smug because she knew that he agreed with her because he actually loved _her_. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, she thought to Katherine. But then Katherine turned to Stefan, looking for a backup.

Stefan walked to Katherine and took her hand. "Kate… I actually think Elena's right in this case. It's not fair to her to tell everyone that you're her."

"Fine." Katherine said, pulling her hand out of Stefan's hand and walking to the door. "Be in the living room at eight."

Stefan looked at his watch and then looked at Elena and Damon. "It's seven fifty-five now. I'm apologize for her rudeness. You know how she can be." He shrugged and then left the room.

Damon sat on the edge of the bed in the room, patting the spot next to him for Elena to sit. "Oh, no. I'm not very happy with you right now. How could you not tell me that Katherine had been running around here saying she was me?"

"Elena, it slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind? Damon, how could something like that _slip your mind_? I just don't see how that's possible." Elena shrieked.

"I'm sorry. I was just so happy to get you back that I didn't think about anything else. If we had been here, I probably would've remembered and told you. I just… I wasn't thinking. It wasn't until Mayor Lockwood and the others looked at you that I remembered." he explained.

Elena thought about this for a minute. "Well… I guess I can understand that. I haven't really been thinking about anything but you either since I found you. I'm still mad at you, though. Now, let's get downstairs. Katherine is probably about to start the speech."

Damon got up and took Elena's hand before leading her out the door. They walked down the stairs and made their way to the living room. All the conversation ended as Elena made her way through the crowd. She heard at least two glasses fall and crash to the ground as people lost their grip when they saw her.

"No matter what happens tonight," Damon said as soon as they made it into the living room, "I'm not leaving your side. I love you, Elena."

Elena wanted to be mad at him. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't okay that something so huge had slipped his mind, that she wanted a long, drawn-out apology from him. But when he said those sweet words, all the ice in her heart thawed. It kind of felt like she was falling in love with Damon all over again.

"I love you, too, Damon." she whispered, moving closer to him and snuggling her face into his neck. Luckily she hadn't decided to curl her hair. There were two reasons she thought this: the first was that she wouldn't have to worry about messing up her hair. The second was that Katherine had curled her hair and it would just be too weird to have the same hairdo as her doppelganger.

The chinking of a glass made Elena raise her head. Katherine was standing in the middle of the room - right in front of the coffee table - with Stefan right next to her. He was holding her hand, but he was looking straight at Elena. When she made eye contact with him, his gaze fell to the ground. Elena didn't have time to think about that because Katherine started talking then.

"Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for coming. As you know, Stefan and I have been doing some major redecorating for the past three months, and it is finally done. What do you think, does it look good?" she said and automatically the crowd started applauding. Katherine's smile beamed.

Now that Katherine had said something about the redecorating, Elena looked around. The place looked almost the same, the only difference was that instead of having red as a contrasting color to the black, they now used blue. No wonder Elena hadn't paid much attention to the house. She had just enough time before Katherine started talking again to think that it shouldn't have taken three months to get this done.

"Thank you! I really hope that you enjoy the party. Dinner will be served in fifteen minutes." Katherine continued and then turned to walk away. Stefan grabbed her arm and slightly shook his head. To a human it would just look like Stefan was staring at Katherine, but Elena was a vampire so she could see what was really happening.

Katherine sighed and turned back to the crowd. "I almost forgot! I have another announcement. Three years ago, I left for a little while. You all remember that, right?" People nodded with sad expressions on their faces. It looked like everyone did, in fact, remember that they thought she had been dead and then miraculously showed up again. "Well, when I left, I went to go view a school in Indiana.

"When there, I met a girl who looked exactly like me."

Elena felt her heart starting to beat harder. Was Katherine about to lie again and say that she was still Elena and that Elena was Katherine?

"A girl named Elena." Elena's heart slowed back down, relieved. Everyone in the crowd looked around, obviously confused. "We decided to look up our ancestry to see if we were related because it was just too weird. It turns out that we are distant relatives. Well, I lived in Europe at the time and she lived here. I'd always wanted to live in America, and she'd always wanted to go to Europe, so we decided to switch places.

"When I got here, I loved everything about Mystic Falls, and soon met Stefan. I found out pretty soon that he and Elena had been dating. He was trying to talk to me about getting back together, so I figured they had just broken up. I explained everything to him. Well, we wound up going out and falling in love. About a week before Elena and I had decided to switch back, I was so nervous. I didn't want to leave because I didn't want to be apart from Stefan.

"To my relief, Elena called and told me that she wanted to stay in Europe. So we stayed switched. As you all know, I lived here with Stefan while I was here because Alaric had moved when he thought…you know. I was rude to Elena. Every time she told me that she wanted to come back home, I would ask for more time because I knew that I couldn't stay if she came back. I don't have citizenship, so I would have to leave.

"Well, Stefan and I got married three months ago, so now I get to stay. Elena saved up money for a plane ticket after I told her and now she's back!" Katherine pointed to Elena, who gave a little wave. Suddenly, the crowd parted as someone shoved their way through. Elena was afraid that it was someone who didn't believe what Katherine was saying coming to say she was a fraud, but as soon as Elena saw who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Elena?" Alaric whispered.

Elena felt her eyes tear up automatically at seeing him. "Alaric!" she shrieked, throwing herself at him. Although Rick wasn't _really _family, Elena wasn't surprised to feel how hard he was hugging her. He knew this entire time that it was really Katherine here and thought that Elena was dead. He kissed the top of her head just like a father would.

"I missed you so much." Elena cried, loving the feeling of having a family again.

Rick pulled back to look at her, probably wondering if it was too good to be true. He had a huge smile on his face as he said, "We missed you, too."

Elena was about to ask him why he said "we" instead of "I" when someone walked up next to him. "Jeremy!" Elena yelled. He pulled her in for a bear-hug. "Hey, little brother."

Jeremy laughed, making Elena wiggle from his chest moving. "More like older brother now, huh?" he whispered so that only she would hear it. She laughed, knowing exactly what he meant. Elena was still technically eighteen, the same age he was now. Actually, he would be turning nineteen in a month.

The rest of the night went by like that; people coming up to Elena, welcoming her back home, remarking on how much she and Katherine - who had had to be asked to tell everyone her real name - looked alike, and asking her about her time in Europe. Then there were other people who had thought she was still dead who chastised her on leaving them in the dark about her being alive.

At around ten, Elena didn't think she could keep answering the same questions anymore, so she told everyone she was going to the bathroom. Damon followed her to the stairs, but Elena told him that she was just going up for a minute to catch her breath and would be back down soon. Once upstairs, Elena went into the room they had been in before and sat down on the bed.

She had just finished taking a deep breath when the door opened and Stefan walked in.

"Stefan? What are you doing up here?" she asked.

He smiled as he said, "I could be asking you the same question."

Elena sighed and said, "I just couldn't take any more questions. I feel like a celebrity with paparazzi popping out every two minutes to bombard me with questions about my personal life. Your turn."

Stefan sat down on the bed next to her. "I saw you come up here looking tragic, so I thought I'd come try to cheer you up."

"Katherine isn't going to like that." she laughed.

Stefan shrugged. "So… Are you going to tell me why you ran away without a word, only to come back to Damon?"

Elena stiffened at the turn their conversation had taken. "Stefan…"

"I just want to know one thing, Elena, and then I promise that I'll leave you alone." Elena waited for him to say what it was, but he didn't say anything. She made a motion with her hands to tell him to go on. "Were you and Damon having an affair before you left?"

Elena gasped. She had thought he was going to ask her why she had gone to Damon, or why she had left without a word to anyone. Maybe even why she left _him_, but not this. "What? Why would you think something like that?" But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she could see why.

Stefan answered anyway. "Well, you knew what Damon was going to do the night you…well, died. You were so frantic about saving him. You'd continuously attempted to save his life, even when everyone else thought it was hopeless. Sometimes I would see the two of you looking at each other in…this way. Then, I walk in on you and Damon kissing, and you run off, only for me to never see you again. That is, until yesterday, when I found out you had come back for my brother."

The way he explained all of that did make it seem like Elena had been seeing Damon before she left, even though she hadn't. "No, Stefan. Damon and I weren't having an affair before I left. It's just that… When I was here, I had conflicted emotions about the both of you. I loved you, Stefan, and I wanted to be with you, but there was a part of me that felt something for Damon, too. I was so confused…

"When you walked in on me and Damon kissing…I just didn't know what to do. Honestly, I didn't know if I should tell you that it would never happen again because I didn't know if it would never happen again. And I didn't want to tell you that I wanted to break up so that I could go to Damon because I didn't. I had no idea what I wanted.

"So, I ran away. I was so upset and confused. I didn't know what to do. Before I knew it, I had drained this poor little girl… I knew that I couldn't go through the transformation with all that stress going on, so I left. It turned out that that was what I needed. While I was gone, I realized that - "

Elena stopped, not wanting to say the truth to Stefan because she knew it would hurt his feelings.

"It's okay, Elena." Stefan said, giving her a small smile. "You can say it."

Elena took a deep breath and said, "I realized that I cared about you, but I wasn't in love with you. It was Damon that I was in love with."

Stefan sighed, looking at the ground as he did so. "I think I realized that before you did." he said. There was so much pain in his voice that it made Elena want to cry. This was why she didn't want to have this talk with him. Even though she wasn't in love with him, she did care about him, and didn't want to hurt him. Not even a little bit. "Don't worry, Elena. I'm not going to try to kiss you again or anything. I want you to be happy. I'm happy. With Katherine, that is. Yes, she can be mean and vindictive at times, but she can also be sweet and loving, and that's what I love about her. I'm sorry that I kissed you before, I was just…_so _happy that you were alive. Old habits die hard."

They shared a sad laugh together before Stefan gave her a hug.

"I'm gonna go back downstairs now." he said and Elena nodded. He walked over to the door, stopping just before he went outside. "I'm happy that you're alive, Elena. And I'm glad that you're happy." And then he left.

Elena had a giant smile on her face, so happy that things were working out exactly like they should. She got up and went to the mirror on the opposite side of the room, glad to see that her makeup didn't look too bad after all the crying she'd done tonight. Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt weren't here, but she decided that as soon as she found out what college they had each decided to go to, she would go visit them. She had a feeling that Caroline wasn't in college, was actually with Klaus somewhere. But even though Elena had no desire to see Klaus whatsoever, she would put up with him to see her friend.

Just as Elena was about to make her way to the door, it opened. She smiled, expecting it to be Damon.

Suddenly, Elena was shoved hard into the wall, her oxygen cutting off. She opened her eyes to see Katherine standing there behind a cloud of stars the blow to her head had caused.

"So, he kissed you, huh?" Katherine asked, obviously not expecting an answer. Elena reached out, trying to hit Katherine, but she was much older than Elena and moved out of the way before she could make contact. Elena came off the wall as Katherine moved, but was pushed back into it almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Elena, but I just can't take the risk that Stefan will leave me for you."

Katherine grabbed a pencil off the table next to them and shoved it through Elena's shoulder and into the wall. Elena cried out in pain, automatically reaching for the pencil. But Katherine had left and come back just as she touched the eraser. This time, Katherine had a stake in her hand. "This will only hurt for a moment."

Elena saw Katherine pull her arm back, positioning the stake to go right through her heart. She closed her eyes, silently praying that Damon will find the will to go on after she's gone. She heard the wind made by Katherine's arm as it came speeding toward her body, but the blow never came.

Elena opened her eyes to see Damon holding a syringe that was sticking in Katherine's neck. Vervain. But Katherine had been taking vervain for years; it didn't affect her the way it did other vampires. To Elena's surprise, Katherine staggered. As she did, Damon pulled her lapis lazuli ring off her right index finger. Then, he shoved her into the table beside Elena.

"Stefan…" Katherine whispered. Almost immediately, Stefan came through the door.

"What's going on here?" he said, going to Katherine.

Damon looked in Elena's eyes as he said, "This is going to hurt, but it won't be for long." He pulled the pencil out of Elena's shoulder and covered her mouth when she went to scream. He caught her easily when she fell. "Your wife just tried to skewer my girlfriend."

Stefan looked back and forth between Katherine and Elena. "Is that true, Kate?"

Katherine got up, stumbling into Stefan's arms. "Pure vervain. And a lot of it. Way to go, Damon."

"Katherine!" Stefan yelled. "Is it true?"

"You were going to leave me…" Katherine whimpered. Stefan then dropped her. She looked up at him as if she couldn't believe he had dropped her and then yelled, "Haylie!"

Elena had just enough time to see a woman with dark hair and blue eyes appear in the doorway and say something she didn't understand when everything went black.

**Let me know what you think =]**

**Oh, and just wanted to say one more thing: Does anyone else find it a little ridiculous that a fanfiction story is being published and turned into a movie? First of all, why publish it when it was already out for FREE on FanFiction? Secondly, the story was a **_**Twilight **_**fanfic. That doesn't really surprise me. Why is it that EVERYTHING about Twilight that people find a little good, they make into some sort of merchandise that people can buy? Also, wouldn't Stephanie Meyer have a problem with this? I don't know, maybe I'm weird and just ranting, but I think it's stupid as hell. Then again, if I was getting my fanfic stories published and turned into movies, I'd be one happy chick! Lol. Let me know your opinions. If you don't believe me, go to Google news and type in fanfiction. It's there for everyone to see!**


	8. Not So Curse

**Sorry I didn't get this chapter up yesterday; I didn't feel good at all. I still don't feel very good, but I wrote some in the story and wound up writing a lot more than I thought. I really hope you enjoy it.**

"Ugh." Elena moaned as she woke up. Her joints felt stiff, something that hadn't happened since she'd turned into a vampire.

"Elena."

Her eyes popped open at the sound of Damon's voice. She automatically realized that they were in the basement of the boardinghouse. She didn't know how she had gotten there - especially because there had been so many guests at the party who would've seen someone carrying her down - but she knew that whoever it was who had done this to her put vervain in her system. She had tried, when she was first turned, to drink a little vervain in tea like Damon and Stefan did, but she just couldn't do it. It would burn her throat, sending shocks of pain through her every time she would take a breath. As soon as the vervain went down her throat the first time she gained more respect for every vampire who went could stomach it.

Elena knew that even though a vampire drank a little vervain every now and then, it didn't mean that they were immune to it completely. That was why Katherine had staggered and eventually fallen when Damon shot her with some. You could only take so much vervain before eventually succumbing to it.

"Damon…" Elena said, finding it hard to even speak. "What happened?"

When her eyes finally focused on him, Elena was mortified by the way Damon looked. He was laying on the wall opposite her, his waist bound by chains. There were vervain plants in pots scattered around the room, probably for easy access if one of them tried to escape. Sweat coated every inch of skin that Elena could see on Damon, and his skin had a weird yellow tint to it. Elena vaguely wondered if this was what she looked like.

Looking down, she could see that she had chains, too, but she wasn't sweating like Damon was, and her skin looked like the same color it always was.

"I don't know. When - " Damon began, but he was cut off by banging and screams on the other side of Elena's wall. When Elena looked to the wall and then back at him, Damon said, "That's been happening every couple of minutes or so. I don't know what's over there, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out."

Elena couldn't tell what it was either, but she had to agree with Damon that she didn't want to know. Before she could tell him to continue, he did.

"When Katherine yelled for her witch friend, Haylie appeared at the doorway and put you under a spell. I was on her before you hit the floor. I was going to kill her to make sure she didn't come after us again, but a man - another witch, I think - came out from behind her and gave me a shot of vervain. It was even more than I gave Katherine, and I went out like a light. The next thing I knew, I was waking up here. I woke up about an hour ago. Elena, I was so worried about you."

Elena gave him a _very _small smile to let him know that she was okay. "I'm okay, Damon. Better than you, I think. I think they gave me vervain, too, but I don't think they used quite as much with me. Why don't you just close your eyes and rest a little bit?"

Damon shook his head. "No. If I fall asleep, I'll wake up feeling even worse. I've been in this situation before, remember? I know what it's like. Besides that, I'm not going to leave you awake by yourself to face whatever this is."

"I can take - "

"No, Elena." he interrupted. "_You _come first, remember? Even before me."

Elena desperately wanted to get up and kiss him, but she knew that even trying would just tire her out. If she hadn't had any vervain in her system, she could probably break these chains without even trying, but it was no use now.

"How sweet."

Both Damon and Elena looked to the door at the same time. Katherine stood just outside, looking in through the barred window. She unlocked the door and stepped in, a giant, evil smile on her face.

Damon got up fast. The vervain may have weakened him, but it didn't take all of his powers away. He reached for Katherine, trying to break the chains at the same time. She moved just out of the way, making a "tisk" sound before laughing. "Silly Damon. Those chains will hold you as long as you have the vervain in your system. And, anyway, I _made _you. I will always be much stronger than you."

Katherine poked Damon in the chest, forcing him back down on the ground.

"Stop it!" Elena shrieked, gaining Katherine's attention. "Just leave him alone!"

"Oh, poor Elena." Katherine walked over to her side of the room with a fake frown on her face. "Can't stand to see your boyfriend hurt? Well, don't worry. You won't have to watch for much longer. In fact, you might as well say your goodbyes because you won't ever be seeing Damon again once you leave this room."

Elena was so shocked at what Katherine said that she couldn't even think of something witty to snap back at her. Oh well, she thought, snarky comments were always Damon's thing. Instead, she mustered up, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Katherine just laughed as she walked out the door, leaving Elena to think of her worst nightmares.

**[STEFAN'S POV]**

There was no way this could be happened, Stefan thought. No way that the girl he loved would ever do such a thing. But every time Stefan opened his eyes, he was forced to face the reality of the situation.

Katherine had changed. Or so he thought. The entire time they had been together, she hadn't shown one sign of her old self. She hadn't tried to flirt or hit on Damon, she hadn't killed anyone, and she hadn't brought her drama to Mystic Falls. For almost three years, it had just been the two of them in love and happiness.

Stefan didn't even know what she was up to, which was the worst part. No, he thought, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was finding out that the girl he was in love with was really a maniacal mad woman and having her break his heart all over again.

_Elena would've never done this to you… _A vicious voice in the back of his mind sneered.

He shook it off, just as he had been shaking off other thoughts like that that popped into his mind after seeing that Elena was alive. It was true that Stefan found himself thinking about her when he was bored. He'd even had a dream about her last night, but he didn't think it was because he still loved her. He had been thinking about why those thoughts popped up and finally came to the conclusion that he needed closure. After all, he and Elena had never discussed breaking up or spending some time apart. The relationship had ended when he thought that she was dead, and, now that she was back, he kept finding himself wondering how the discussion would've gone if she had stayed.

Then there was the part of his mind that said that if Damon had never killed her, she never would've run off, and they would still be together to this day.

"Ah!" Stefan screamed, kicking his feet on the wall. He would do this every couple of minutes, needing to get his frustration out.

Katherine had had her witch knock Stefan out so they could bring him down here, in the basement. There were five rooms in the basement: two at the front hallway, two around the corner, and then one, big room down three stairs. That was the room that contained the furnace, so he knew that Katherine wouldn't put Elena and Damon in there. No, she had probably put them right next to each other so that they could hear each other's screams.

Stefan hadn't fed on a human in weeks and Katherine knew that, which was why she knew that they wouldn't need to use vervain on him as long as they reinforced the door. They'd added metal and steel to the outside of the door and vervain to the inside so Stefan wouldn't even _try _to break it down. He'd spent hours - after he woke up - trying to find a spot that was bare so he could get out of there, but had no such luck.

Suddenly, a shriek from the room next door had Stefan on his feet again. Someone had yelled something, but he couldn't tell who it was or what they were yelling. He was worried that it might be his brother or, even worse, Elena. He would have to make a plan to get out of here - not for himself, but for the two of them.

He was pacing back and forth, trying to think of a plan, when there was a short rap at the door. He looked up to see Katherine's face at the barred window.

"Stefan, sweetheart, I promise I'm going to get you out of here as fast as I can. It won't be long now." she said, actually looking as though she meant it. But Stefan knew better, knew that she could manipulate people just as well as compelling them.

He scoffed, coming as close to the door as he dared, not wanting to get hurt from the vervain. "Just what do you think you're doing here, Katherine? Playing a game? This is _no _game! You're locking us up, and for what? To play with?"

Katherine actually looked hurt. He had to give it to her, the girl could act. "No, Stefan. I'm not playing a game. There is actually a reason for this, even if you don't believe me."

"What could possibly drive you to _chain up your husband_?" he shouted, more angry than ever.

"Stefan, _please_!" Katherine cried. "Just let me explain."

He looked into her eyes for a long time, trying to see if there was any of the girl he loved left. "Fine. Explain." he growled.

She sighed and began, "There's something you should know. Something I should've told you a long time ago, but it just wasn't the right time." She paused, looking at him for what seemed like forever until she finally realized that he wasn't going to say anything back. "Well, as you know, I've lived for a very long time. I have traveled to so many places in that time that I can't even tell you exactly _where_. But, in an old village in South Africa, I learned something…horrible.

"As you know, doppelgangers are very rare and very special. There have only been two recorded instances of _actual _doppelgangers. Many people think that there have been more, but all the others were just people who looked similar. Elena and I look exactly alike, yet we're not related, making us true doppelgangers.

"I learned from an old man in the village that there is a curse on doppelgangers. Not one that was put on them, necessarily, but one that just…is. He said that as long as both of them live, they will never have true love."

"Oh, bullshit, Katherine!" Stefan yelled. "We were perfectly fine until you found out that Elena was still alive! And Elena and Damon were fine, too. In fact, we were all _happy_. That is, until you brought this 'curse' into the picture."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Stefan, her jaw tightening as she did. "Stefan, you and I both know that's a lie. Ever since she got back, you've been pulling away from me."

"That's not true." Stefan dismissed automatically.

"Really?" Katherine asked, starting to grab the bars of the window and realizing at the last moment that there was vervain on them. She pulled her hand back. "Tell me that you haven't been thinking of her. Look me in the eyes and tell me."

Stefan looked straight into her eyes, not flinching at all. "I haven't been thinking about Elena."

Katherine laughed, turning around and walking two steps before coming back to the door. "I forgot how manipulating other vampires can be. Stefan, you're lying to me."

"And how exactly do you know that?"

"Because I've been in your mind!" she shrieked, banging her hand on the outside of the door. "The night before the party, you were tossing and turning. You usually sleep like a rock. So, I wanted to see what was plaguing you. I peeked into your mind and saw nothing but Elena. You see? You're already lying to me about her! It's already starting!"

Stefan was surprised to think that maybe Katherine could be right. As soon as he had known that Elena was alive, he started thinking about her more and more often. But he would never let Katherine know this. "Whatever, Katherine. Go on with your theory."

Katherine looked sad as she went on. "I didn't believe the man. I found out from neighboring villages the tales of the two sets of doppelgangers. The first pair was female. They both fell in love with the same man and wound up killing each other in order to get him. The second pair was male. Each was in love with their wife, happy and getting ready to have children. They lived four villages apart. A flood killed most of the people in the first doppelganger's village, including his wife.

"Looking for a new place to live, he trekked to the village of the second doppelganger, where he was welcomed with open arms. He didn't know that it was because everyone thought he was the second doppelganger. The first doppelganger was there for only a day before seeing a beautiful woman by the river he was fishing at. She was so beautiful to him that he didn't even realized he had been walking toward her until he was right next to her.

"The woman was the second doppelganger's wife, and, thinking that the first doppelganger was actually the second - her husband - wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. They escaped to the cover of woods to make love. The second doppelganger was out hunting when he came upon them. He was so angry that he killed the first doppelganger without even thinking about it.

"The entire village proclaimed him innocent of the crime because they thought the other doppelganger was the evil version of the second doppelganger. His wife explained to him that she thought it was him and he believed her. They were together until the very end of their lives, when they both died together.

"So, you see? One of us _has _to die, Stefan." Katherine ended.

Stefan thought about this for a moment. "Katherine, what you just said makes no sense. The first doppelgangers didn't even have love because they killed each other before they could get it. And the second story doesn't add proof that there is a curse on doppelgangers because the first one didn't prove it at all. If anything, you have two really sad tales, but they don't prove that one of you has to die in order for us all to be happy."

"No." Katherine said, her eyes teary and her jaw set. "I thought that if anyone would agree with me, it would be you, Stefan. I'm going to kill Elena. I don't care if the curse is true or not, I am going to kill her because I'm not taking the chance of losing you again."

Katherine turned to walk off, but Stefan ran toward the door and stuck his arm through the barred window, the vervain burning his skin as he did. "No, Katherine." he grunted.

She tried to make him let go, but she wasn't able to without hurting him. "Stefan, let go! You're hurting yourself!" she shrieked.

"No!" he yelled. "Katherine, please, _please_ don't do this. I am begging you."

"Because you don't want _her _to die?" she asked, defiantly.

Stefan gasped, the vervain now causing the parts of his arms that were exposed to disintegrate. "No. Because I want my brother to be happy. And _I _want to be happy. Let them go. I'll tell them to leave and never come back. We'll be happy together, you and I."

Katherine looked like she was about to give, but instead shook herself, getting Stefan to let go. He automatically reached for her again, but she moved out of the way. Knowing that it was stupid to stay on the door, Stefan backed up a foot, feeling the pain even more now than before. Just before he fell down he heard Katherine say, "I'm sorry, Stefan, but this is the way it has to be."

**[ELENA'S POV]**

Elena and Damon sat in the dark for an entire day, both of them getting weaker and weaker as time went on. They tried to talk to each other and play games so that they wouldn't go to sleep because if they did manage to fall asleep, they would wake up considerably weaker, and they couldn't have that.

They'd finally decided that Katherine had to have Stefan pent up in the room next door because there was no way he would allow this to go on. Besides, they had heard little wisps of talking after Katherine had left their cell, coming from two people a little ways down the hall. If it weren't for the vervain and the super thick walls in the basement, they would have heard everything.

Elena felt like she was going to fall asleep when suddenly Damon whispered to her.

"Elena! Elena, don't fall asleep! I hear someone coming."

Elena automatically tried to hear what he was hearing, but she came up short. She gave Damon a wink before closing her eyes and willing every part of her body to portray her as sleeping. They'd already talked about how hard this would be for her because she was so tired, but she had had no idea. Her entire body really did want her to go to sleep, but she couldn't right now. Wait until we get home, Elena told herself.

Elena heard the creak of the door opening and the sound of high heels on the ground.

"Looks like your little girlfriend fell asleep on you." Katherine said to Damon. "Better for her, anyway. She won't be thrashing around when I take her out, so I won't have to hurt her. How are you doing?"

Elena could tell by the tone of Damon's voice that he was doing his famous smirk. "I'm just peachy."

Katherine laughed. "Same old Damon. Well, you don't have anything to worry about. I'm not going to hurt you. Just _her_. You know, when she's gone, the offer is still on the table for all three of us to be together…"

Okay, that pissed Elena off. She knew that now was the time to act.

Ten minutes after Katherine had gone, Elena had found out that she was strong enough to break her chains. It seemed that Katherine underestimated Elena's strength. She did break them and then held them together to look like they weren't broken, doing the same to Damon's. She and Damon had talked about what they would do the next time Katherine came in. Luckily, she had left their rings on their fingers.

Elena would feign sleeping and, when Katherine had her back turned to her, attack Katherine from behind. She would leap on her shoulders to hold her down while Damon got up and grabbed one of Katherine's heels. He would then stab her with it before grabbing a vervain plant and throwing it on her. Elena and Damon would escape the cell, shutting and locking the door behind them. Then, they would go home and never come back here again.

Elena shot up, throwing herself at Katherine just like they'd planned. Not knowing that Elena had broken the chains or that she wasn't asleep, Katherine was caught off guard and fell to the ground, a loud scream coming out of her. Damon was already up before Katherine hit the ground, grabbing her heel and sticking it as far as he could into her shoulder.

Elena had already grabbed a vervain plant and was dumping it on Katherine when the sound of footsteps filled the hall outside. Damon threw his plant on Katherine, turning as he did. It was then that Elena saw Haylie standing there. She said something in another language and Damon crumpled to the ground.

But Elena had already planned for something like this, even if Damon hadn't known. She'd reached over and snapped the rest of the chain off the wall as Haylie did her spell on Damon. Elena reared back with the chain and whipped it right at Haylie. It hit her with so much force that her skull went inward and she was dead before she hit the ground.

She grabbed Damon under the arms and started to turn him around when Katherine grabbed her ankle.

"I don't think so." Katherine sneered, about to pull Elena's ankle out from under her.

But Elena was in sheer predator mode. By the time Katherine had finished her sentence, Elena's other foot was in the air. She brought it down as hard as she could, affectively breaking Katherine's nose and knocking her out.

"I _do _think so, _bitch_!" Elena yelled before grabbing Damon and dragging him out. She was about to drag him upstairs when a thought occurred to her. Setting Damon down gently, she ran to the door next to her old cell.

"Elena!" Stefan let out as she reached the door.

She nodded at him as she unlocked the door. As he came out, she explained, "Damon got knocked out by that witch. I need help getting him out of here."

Stefan nodded and grabbed Damon's arms as Elena grabbed his feet. They moved as fast as they could upstairs. Before Elena could tell him to wait, Stefan climbed through the doorway to the lounge. She heard a sound like something darting through the air just before Stefan fell down limp. A man with a dart-gun stepped into the doorway, effectively blocking her exit. It must be filled with vervain, Elena thought.

Elena had no idea what to do. Both Damon and Stefan were passed out, so she wasn't getting any help from them. She had no weapons on or around her, so there was nothing to do with that. At any moment, this man would bring up his dart-gun and shoot her with vervain, knocking her out, too. Without thinking, Elena did the only thing she could think of: she screamed.

It was a long, loud scream. As she did it, she closed her eyes, willing herself to scream as loud as she could. Nothing of this magnitude had ever come out of her before. She let the scream go on until she didn't have enough breath to continue it.

Opening her eyes, Elena saw that the man with the dart-gun was crumpled on the ground, his ears bleeding. For a moment she was shocked, but then she thought about it. A vampire's muscles are much stronger than a human's are, so it would only make sense that her lungs and throat were strong enough to let out a sound that could deafen humans. But she'd also read somewhere that there was a tone that could send impulses to a human's brain so strong it could kill them. Maybe she had just made that tone.

Elena picked up Damon first, knowing that if Katherine woke up, she wouldn't kill or hurt Stefan. It took her longer than she'd liked - even with vampiric strength - but she got him into the Mustang. When she turned around to go get Stefan, he was already there, making her yelp.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." he said.

She nodded. "It's okay. So, are you staying here or going with us?"

Stefan reached into his pockets and pulled out the keys to the Mustang. Elena hadn't even thought of that. "Looks like I'm going with. Besides, you guys need a place to stay. If you go back to River Hollows, Katherine will just find you. I know the perfect place."

Elena climbed into the backseat, pulling Damon's head into her lap as Stefan got in and started the car. She barely had time to kiss Damon's forehead before she slipped into a deep, wonderful sleep.

**So…? Let me know what you think! Click the little blue button just below… Come on, you know you want to! Lol. =]**


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